was carried so far, that Charles V. found himself forced at length to proclaim laws for its repression.

Architecture was greatly cultivated in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries; most of the cathedrals and town halls being built in that age. Their vastness, solidity, and beauty of design and execution, make them yet speaking monuments of the stern magnificence and finished taste of the times. Immediately on entering Bruges, our steps were directed to one of these buildings-the Cathedral, whose massive west tower, resembling a castle, attracts attention long before the city is reached. It is built of brick, which, however, being grey in colour, when seen from a distance, looks much like stone. Gothic in style, of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, it is more imposing in massive strength than symmetry.

The Cathedral is rich in pictures, which were shown to us by the Sacristan. One in the Sacristy, by Van Eyck, of the Virgin weeping, is very remarkable. The tears-to see which we stood upon a stool close to the picture are as pellucid as if actually flowing from the Virgin's eyes. These ancient masters also painted glass and other accessories marvellously. Valuable, however, as the pictures are, they do not adorn, but often positively disfigure, the churches. They are generally enclosed in shabby frames, and hung wherever space can be found, without regard to the effect of the distribution upon the aspect of the building.

A short distance from the Cathedral is another large church of the thirteenth century, Notre Dame, with a tower 390 feet in height. It contains many pictures, but its chief treasures are the tombs of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy (died 1477), and his daughter Mary (died 1482), wife of the Emperor Maximilian. These tombs are in a side chapel. Life-size recumbent figures of the duke and his daughter, in bronze, richly gilded, repose on marble sarcophagi, covered with armorial bearings of the estates which the Princess brought from the House of Austria.

Another great treasure of the church is a marble group of the Virgin and Child, by Michael Angelo. It is exceedingly beautiful, and stands in a black marble niche over the altar. The French carried it off to Paris during the wars of the Revolution. Horace Walpole is said to have offered thirty thousand florins for the statue.

The commerce of Bruges is now insignificant, and its prosperity gone; but its broad streets and old houses attest to its ancient glory. The ends of the houses abutting upon the streets, rise in steps more or less richly decorated to the point of the gable; and, as nearly every one differs in form, height, or colour from its neighbour, the streets are most picturesque. Canals, with their numerous bridges, here, and also at Ghent, are peculiar features in the aspect of these cities. The walls of old houses, draped with creepers, rise from the surface of the water; and trees planted in the streets and gardens, give cool, still life to the

scene.

These canals are connected with a large dock, called the Bassin de Commerce, from which two broad and deep canals, accessible to sea-going vessels of considerable tonnage, are carried to the North Sea, a distance of seven-and-a-half miles, terminating at Ostend and Sluys. There are also canals from Bruges to Ghent, Ypres, Nieuport, and Furnes.

The artist will never lack material in this city. At every turn he may come upon quaint streets, traversed by figures unfamiliar to the English eye; women going to church or market in a type of black cloak, with a large hood, which gives them the appearance of nuns'; men working very leisurely, in conformity with the dreamy quiet of the old city, or, more frequently, letting strong dogs do the harder part of drawing any loads with which they may have to deal. Above these streets, church or belfry tower, crocketed pinnacle of town hall, or the gable of some ancient house, is sure to break the skyline and complete the picture.

Passing through the Place Simon Stevin, a square, planted with trees, and used as a fruit market, we came to the Grand Place, a large square, the principal market place of Bruges. One side of the square is occupied by the Halles, a Gothic building, erected in 1364 for a cloth hall. This extensive pile would, in the fourteenth century, be the great centre of life. Around it traders from the far north, from England, France, Spain, and Italy would congregate; for Bruges had been selected as the most convenient station to meet the commercial necessities of both Northern and Southern Europe. Navigation was then so imperfect, that to sail to Italy from any port in the Baltic, and to return again, was a voyage too great to be performed in one summer. For that reason, magazines, halfway between the commercial cities in the north and those in Italy, became Before the reign of Edward III. all the wool of England, except a small quantity wrought into coarse cloths for home consumption, was sold to Flemings and Lombards, and manufactured by them. That too would chiefly pass through the hands of the merchants of Bruges.

necessary.

The Belfry, or Grande Tour, erected at the end of the fourteenth century, rises from the centre of that front of the Halles which faces the square. The two massive square storeys are flanked with corner turrets, and surmounted by a lofty octagon. It has the repute of containing the finest carillon in Europe. The bells, forty-eight in number, are played by curious machinery, which is exhibited to visitors. Every quarter of an hour, in tones

"Most musical and solemn, bringing back the olden times,

With their strange unearthly changes, rang the melancholy chimes,
Like the psalms from some old cloister, when the nuns sing in the choir ;
And the great bell tolled among them, like the chanting of a friar."

Another memento of the days of ancient story stands on the east side of the market place. It is a house in which the citizens of Bruges, in the

year 1488, kept their monarch Maximilian, King of the Romans, prisoner, until he had solemnly sworn to renounce his claim to the guardianship of his son, to respect the liberties of Bruges, and to forget the affront he had received. The determined character of the men of those days is strikingly illustrated by this transaction and its consequences. Maximilian being the son of the German Emperor, all Europe became interested in his fate during the time of his durance. The Pope addressed a brief to the town, demanding his deliverance, and the Imperial army was directed to march against the city, without shaking the resolution of the Flemings to maintain their rights. The Emperor having entered the Netherlands at the head of forty thousand men, Maximilian, so supported, soon showed his contempt for the obligations he had sworn to, and had recourse to force for the extension of his authority. The valour of the Flemings and the military talents of their leader, Philip of Cleves, thwarted all his projects, and a new compromise was entered into. Flanders paid a large subsidy, and held fast her rights.

From the Great Square we passed through a narrow street to the Place du Bourg, where stands the Hotel de Ville, a highly decorated Gothic structure with six towers, three in front and three in the rear, began about 1377, and recently restored. Statues of the counts of Flanders fill forty-eight niches in the principal front. On their accession to the throne, these counts were in the habit of showing themselves to the people from one of the balconies or windows in front of this building, and swearing to maintain the privileges of the city.

Adjoining the Hotel de Ville is the Chapel of the Holy Blood, a small and elegant church of two storeys, dating from 1150 to 1400. The chapel derives its name from some drops of the blood of the Saviour, which Theodoric, Count of Flanders, is said to have brought from the Holy Land in 1150, and presented to the city. The Holy Blood being only exhibited on Fridays, we were unable to see what, apart from its sacredness in the eyes of Romanists, is certainly a very ancient and interesting relic. Wishing to see something of the working classes. we traversed several streets where they reside. Women were seated in the sunshine at the doors of their houses, weaving the lace for which Flanders is celebrated, with mechanical celerity and deftness of habit, which allowed of conversation with neighbours without interruption of work. Contrasting with the aspect of the houses inhabited by the lower orders in French towns, we saw through open doors and windows that the interiors were clean, and pleasing in aspect and arrangement, although the people are said to be very poor.

With much regret that we had not more time at command, we left the ancient city-grand in her decay, and out of the common tourist routes, therefore almost forgotten in these days, when the rage ever increases to go further from home in travel.

A TRIP TO DOVER.

LEAVING Charing Cross at 12, noon, we passed on to Cannon Street and London Bridge, after which we moved along the rails at a rapid rate, without stopping, until we reached Westenhanger, from thence to Folkestone, arriving at Dover in two hours and a half after leaving London.

In passing, we were impressed with the beauties of creation, and reminded of the words of the Psalmist, "O Lord, how manifold are Thy works! in wisdom hast Thou made them all: the earth is full of Thy riches." But, after all, how mysterious are the ways of Divine Providence. The earth had yielded her increase, and brought forth abundantly. The grass adorned the hills, and the smiling fields were clothed with corn, and there was the appearance of an abundant supply for both man and beast. But, alas! while much remains uncut, there are many fields in shock ready, and more than ready, to be gathered in, which the almost continuous rain is causing to have a black appearance; and we were informed that much of it was beginning to grow, or sprout. This is one of the dispensations of Providence, which may be permitted for the trial of our faith and patience.

During the journey, in looking over the Daily News, we were pleased to find that the Archbishop of Canterbury had recommended his clergy to use a public prayer that the appointed weeks of harvest might be granted, so that the fruits of the earth might be "preserved unto us, and in due time may be enjoyed."

The hop gardens on either hand seem to promise more than an average yield, which, so far as those who have them are concerned, will to some extent compensate for the loss upon the corn.

The pasture lands present a very different appearance to what is often seen in the month of August, when the grass is frequently burnt up, and the sheep have to be fed, but now all is looking green and gay.

We always make it a practice, whether at home or abroad, to avail ourselves of all the spiritual help we can, as well as to seek recreation for the body. We therefore found our way the first evening to Trinity Church. The first thing we noticed was the smallness of the congregation, consisting of about twenty-five persons, in a church—a fine building-calculated to seat upwards of fifteen hundred persons.

The prayers ended, a hymn was sung by two or three young females who constituted the choir, and had their places in front of the organ. We thought this will not compare with home.

Then followed a short sermon from the last clause of the first chapter of the Epistle to the Ephesians, and the last clause of Colossians iii. 11. The sermon was an attempt to show that Christ is "All and in all in creation, providence, redemption, and eternal salvation." The preacher however, notwithstanding he had lived sixty or more years in the world,

could get no further than what he or some one else had written in a book.

The next day we visited the Castle, the entrance to which is by a long flight of steps on the eastern side.

The views from the walls of the Castle are truly romantic. From the western battlements we see fertile valleys, down one of which descends the River Dour, and the main road from London. Other valleys branch off to the west, and are intersected by lofty hills. From the turrets of what is called the "Keep" the prospects are grand and beautiful, including the North Foreland, the Isle of Thanet, Ramsgate, Sandwich, the Downs, Calais, and the French Coast from Boulogne to Gravelines.

There is a world of wonders within the Castle itself, which one might gaze upon for a week, but of which we have neither time nor space to speak at present.

We pass on from the Castle to what are known as the Western Heights, still more elevated than the Castle, the batteries of which guard not only the town and harbour, but the approaches from the surrounding country.

Near the margin of the cliff that rises almost perpendicularly from Snargate Street, are the ranges of commodious buildings known as the "Heights Barracks," which communicate with the town by means of a "Military Shaft," the entrance to which from the lower part of Sna rgate Street, by the side of the Wesleyan Chapel, is through an arched passage. At the extremity of this there are three spiral flights, of 140 steps each, winding round a large shaft, open at the top to admit light; and 59 more, making a total of 199 steps, by which we reach the Barrack Yard. The objects of interest on these Heights are various. The every-day life of the soldiers may be seen without difficulty. On the right is a fine tennis-court, erected for their recreation; and at the summit of the ascent, near the rows of barrack buildings, some of which are above, and others beneath the surface of the earth, is seen a large and excellent gymnasium.

But we must pass on to Shakespeare Cliff, immortalized by him whose name it bears. From the top of this cliff, which is 350 feet above the level of the sea, may be seen the Cathedral of Notre Dame at Boulogne, while quite a distinct view may be had of the town of Folkestone. Here we stood for some time, gazing on the expanse of water, and the numerous vessels thereon, as well as on the hills beyond. Perhaps this excited a wish to visit the French coast; we therefore started on Saturday morning for Boulogne. The sea, though not rough, was what some called "such a swell," that the passengers, many of them, longed for the shore, ourselves not quite escaping. We found the town such as very agreeably excited our surprise-a clean, pretty, well-arranged place, where any-one might well spend a week or two. Very different from Calais, to which we went last year. We returned to Dover the same day.