A Tour Through France, Switzerland and Belgium in 1814

Chap. XVII

Although the present population of the Netherlands bears no proportion to that which it formerly maintained, yet it is still very considerable, and exceeds that of any country in Europe, Holland only excepted; being 202 persons to each square mile (see ch. xi. for the population of Switzerland, &c.) The decrease in the number of inhabitants in these provinces is chiefly to be attributed to the religious persecutions which compelled thousands of industrious families to emigrate.

This depopulation is very perceptible in many of the cities I passed through, which are capable of containing double their present number of inhabitants, and is nowhere more striking than at Louvain, where the present population does not exceed 25,000, and where formerly there were 4000 manufactories of cloth, which supported 15,000 labourers. This city is surrounded with an ancient wall of brick, which, as well as its numerous towers, presents a half mined appearance. Many of the public buildings of Louvain indicate its former opulence. The town-house is considered as a model of Gothic architecture, and the cathedral of St. Peter is a stately building. The portal of the Collegium Falconis presents a specimen of Grecian architecture, which is much admired for the simplicity. The University of Louvain was formerly of great celebrity, and no person could exercise any public authority in the Austrian Netherlands, without having graduated here. This regulation, however beneficially intended, only produced the effect of raising extremely the expence of the different diplomas, without being attended with any advantage, except to the funds of the university. In the present unsettled state of the Netherlands, it cannot be expected that the seats of learning should be as much frequented, as they probably will be when their new sovereign shall have had leisure to turn his attention to the important subject of public education; and the wisdom of the regulations he has promulgated, on other matters of general interest (particularly that which enforces the more solemn observation of Sunday) leaves little room to doubt that this point will, in its turn, be duly and successfully attended to. Those who have resided at Louvain have observed, that its inhabitants are in general more polite than in most of the towns in these provinces; but my stay was not sufficiently long to enable me to form any opinion on the subject. The manners of the people do not seem to me very dissimilar from those of the French, but others think they most resemble the Dutch. In fact, the Netherlanders have no very peculiar characteristics, but partake, in many respects, of those which distinguish the various nations from whom they are descended. They have been much and often abused by various writers, who have attributed to them the faults of almost all the nations of Europe, without allowing that they possess any of the good qualities by which those faults are palliated in the other nations. Those, however, who are of a candid disposition will not feel inclined to assent to the truth of statements so evidently dictated by enmity or spleen. But whilst I would not have the Flemish considered as a compound of all that is exceptionable in the human character, I do not consider them as meriting any particular praise; nor can I vindicate them from the charge of dishonesty, which has been so often alleged against them. In general on the Continent, where the English are the subjects of extortion, the fraud is considered as trivial, and the French often boast in conversation how John Bull is pillaged at Paris. But whatever may be the Flemish character, it is allowed by all that they follow the French customs in their domestic arrangement, but are in general more cleanly. Their kitchens are kept very neat, and the cooking apparatus is ranged in order round the stove, which, in many of the kitchens that I saw in the small inns, projects considerably into the room.

Many of the inhabitants of these provinces (like my two companions in the Louvain Diligence) are below the middle size; they are extremely intelligent and active, and in general civil to strangers. Before I quit Louvain, I must not omit to notice that it is famous for its beer, which is certainly the best I have tasted on the Continent. The number of breweries is said to exceed twenty, and the consumption is astonishingly great in the neighbourhood, besides a considerable export trade.

I continued my journey to Brussels along an excellent road, the centre of which was paved, as from the nature of the soil, it would be otherwise impassable in winter. The roads in this country run for many miles together, in a straight line between rows of trees; and I must confess I thought it very uninteresting to travel through. The flatness of its surface, is but rarely interrupted by any eminence, which affords a prospect calculated to make any impression on the mind. There are many neat villages, and occasionally one sees country seats decorated in that formal style of gardening, which was originally introduced from this country into England, but which has there long since yielded to a more natural taste. The farming seems very neatly managed; the numerous canals, although they add nothing to the beauty of the country, are of great utility to the farmer; and travelling is very cheap in the boats, which pass between the chief towns.

It would require scenery like that of the Rhine, to induce me to adopt this conveyance; but many of these canals pass between banks which exclude all view of the surrounding country. I found the Netherlander generally impatient to be relieved from the great military expences, incident to their present situation. There is, I think, little reason to doubt, that when some of the existing taxes can be removed, the Orange family will become popular. The stamp duties are very heavy; there are land and house taxes, and a personal tax. It is to be expected, that the people should wish for a diminution of their burdens, but Liege is the only place I have visited in the countries lately relinquished by France, where the separation seems to be generally regretted. I found that the Prussian government, was by no means popular, on the left bank of the Rhine, and that an union with either Austria or Bavaria, was much wished for in those provinces, whose future destiny remains to be decided at the Congress of Vienna.

Having met with but few English travellers since I had quitted Switzerland, I was much struck on entering Brussels with the vast numbers of my fellow subjects, moving in all directions. The garrison was almost entirely composed of English troops, so that I felt here quite at home. I found that there was an English theatre, as well as a French one, and that balls, and entertainments of all descriptions, à l’Anglaise, were in abundance. Indeed the upper part of the city differed little in appearance from an English watering place.

Brussels is a city of great extent, built partly on the river Senne (naturally a very inconsiderable stream, but which, being formed here into a canal, becomes of much advantage), and partly on a hill, commanding an extensive view of the rich. and fertile plain by which it is surrounded; much of which resembles a vast kitchen garden. It is, like Louvain, surrounded by a ruined wall of brick, as formerly all the towns of Flanders were fortified. This was the capital of the Austrian Netherlands, and lately the chief place of the French department of the Dyle: it will, probably, now become, for a part of the year, the residence of its new sovereign, whose sons are at present amongst its inhabitants. The inhabitants of Brussels are calculated at 70,000, and its environs give the traveller an idea of its importance, as they have an appearance of much traffic and are decorated with many villas which announce the opulence, but not always the good taste of their owners. The city is, in general, irregularly built, and the lower part does not deserve commendation; but the place royale is fine: the park is surrounded by many handsome public buildings, and by a number of private houses, which would ornament any capital in Europe. The park is of considerable extent, and forms an agreeable promenade. Its avenues are kept in excellent order; they abound with statues and other formal decorations, which are, however, more admissible in a city promenade than in the retirement of the country. A fountain here was celebrated by Peter the Great’s having fallen into it, as that monarch, like Cato, was said,

“Sæpe mero caluisse virtus.”

“His virtue oft with wine to warm.”

The circumstance was recorded by the following inscription:

“Petrus Alexowitz, Czar Moscoviæ, magnus dux, margini hujus fontis insidiens, illius aquam nobilitavit libato vino hora post meridiam tertia, die 16 Aprilis, 1717.”

“That renowned General P.A., Czar of Moscovy, having poured forth ample libations of wine, whilst sitting on the brink of this fountain fell into, and ennobled its waters about three o’clock in the afternoon of the 16th of April, 1717.

The town-house is one of the most conspicuous of the public buildings at Brussels, although it is situated in the lowest part of the town, its steeple rising to the height of 364 feet; it is a very fine piece of Gothic architecture. The equestrian statue, noticed by M. Dutens, as being placed on the top of a house in the square before the town-house, has disappeared; the horse and his rider having been removed to a more suitable situation. The church of St. Gudule presents a venerable and interesting appearance; it contains several fine paintings, and windows of stained glass. There are many ancient tombs of the old Dukes of Brabant. The church of St. James is also worthy of notice, and its façade of the Corinthian order, is an elegant and uniform piece of architecture, which does honour to the taste of the builder.

Brussels contains many fine collections of paintings, which I have not time to enumerate; but I was much pleased with some pictures of M. Danoots, to whom I had a letter. They are not very numerous, but are undoubted originals of S. Rosa, Teniers, Rembrandt, Myiens, and of J. Bassano, who is remarkable for having attained a greater age (82) than most of the great painters, he has accordingly left behind him a greater number of pictures than almost any other master. He is said to have expressed great regret on his death-bed, that he should be obliged to quit the world at the moment when he had begun to make some little progress in his art. A shorter life than Bassano’s, is, however, sufficient to establish the reputation of an artist. Raphael died in his 37th year, but public opinion has placed him at the head of his art for general proficiency.

There are several excellent hotels in Brussels which command a view of the park. I was at one of these, the Hotel de Bellevue, and found the hour of the table d’hote had been changed to accommodate the English, to four o’clock, at least two hours later than the usual time; but as the company consisted always entirely of English it was but reasonable they should fix the hour. The dinner here more resembled an English one than any I had hitherto seen on the Continent, and reminded me of the public tables at Cheltenham.

Brussels was some months since a very cheap residence, but I have been assured, that the prices of most articles have more than doubled since our troops first arrived here. Living at an hotel here is nearly as expensive as in London; but no doubt there is a considerable saving in the expences of a family who are recommended to honest trades-people. There are still a number of good houses to be let, notwithstanding the great influx of English, many of whom have engaged houses for four or five years, on terms which seem very reasonable to those accustomed to the London prices.

The country round Brussels presents several excursions which would probably have better answered my expectations had the weather been more favourable. The Abbey of Jurourin, was a country seat of the princes of the Austrian family, and was formerly famous for its menagerie. The forest of Sogne is of great extent; and its numerous avenues, which now had a sombre appearance, are, no doubt, in summer, much frequented by the inhabitants of Brussels. This forest was the property of the Emperor of Germany, and is said to have produced an annual revenue of one million of florins.

The prison, or house of correction, at Vilvorde, is worthy of attention, from the excellent manner in which it is conducted. Those who wish for the introduction of some improvements into our workhouses, might surely derive many useful hints from the manner in which similar establishments are conducted abroad; and although I have never thought much on the subject, yet I did not fail to remark the cleanliness, regularity, and industry, which prevailed here and in another place of the same kind near Berne.

Brussels is seen to great advantage from the ancient ramparts which surround it. I went entirely round the city in about two hours, and afterwards attended divine service, which was performed in English, to a congregation which proved the great number of English now here. There are at present but few very strongly fortified cities in Belgium, compared with the vast number which it formerly contained. The period is past, when, after the ablest engineers had exerted their utmost skill in the construction of fortifications around its cities, generals, not less distinguished, contended for the honour of reducing them. Amongst numberless other instances, the siege of Ostend sufficiently attests how successful the engineers have been in rendering those places strong; and also bears ample testimony to the perseverance of the commanders who at last succeeded in taking them. Ambrose Spinola entered Ostend in 1604, after a siege of above three years, during which the besieged lost 50,000 and the besiegers 80,000 men. The siege and capture of Valenciennes might also be adduced, if testimony were wanting of the zeal and bravery of British armies and commanders. But however justly these sieges are celebrated in modern times, the antiquarian who contends for the supremacy of past ages over the present, will not fail to instance the siege of Troy and the exploits of Achilles and Agamemnon, as a more distinguished instance of perseverance than any to be met with in these degenerate days, and if he should meet with some sceptic who insists that the heroes of Homer owe their existence only to the imagination of the poet, although he can assent to no such hypothesis, yet he will also instance the siege of Azotus, on the frontiers of Egypt, which Psammeticus, meditating extensive conquests, and thinking it beneath him to leave so strong a fortress unsubdued, is related to have spent 29 years of his reign in reducing.

As I was desirous of visiting Antwerp and Ghent, and as the period allotted for my tour was drawing to a close (a circumstance which the advanced season of the year gave me but little reason to regret) I left Brussels, enveloped in a fog, which might remind the English fashionables of those so prevalent in London during the gloomy season of November, and proceeded to Malines, 14 miles distant, formerly one of the greatest cities of Belgium, but now like too many other once celebrated places in that country, affording a melancholy contrast to its former splendour, and proving that in the vicissitude of all sublunary affairs, cities, as well as their inhabitants, are subject to decay.

Non indignemur mortalia corpora solvi Cernimus exemplis oppida posse mori.

Here are several manufactories of excellent lace and many breweries, but the beer is considered as greatly inferior to that of Louvain. The houses are spacious, and exhibit singular specimens of ancient taste; the roofs rise to a great height and terminate in a sharp point. Their walls are generally of an excessive whiteness. The tower of the cathedral is highly finished, and rises to a vast height. There being little to detain me here, Malines being more remarkable for what it once was, than for what it now is, I continued my way to Antwerp along an excellent paved road, lined by avenues of trees, which are often so cut (the Dutch differing from the Minorquins, who never prune a tree, saying, that nature knows best how it should grow) as not to be at all ornamental, and in some places cannot be said to afford either “from storms a shelter, or from heat a shade.” In that state, however unnatural, they answer the intention of their planters, by marking the course of the road in the snowy season, without excluding the air from it in the wet weather, prevalent in autumn.

Antwerp is one of the most celebrated cities of Europe, and although its present situation is far from comparable with its former celebrity, yet it has revived greatly of late years; and the events which have restored to these provinces their independence, will, no doubt, fill with the vessels of all trading nations those docks, which were constructed by the French Government at such incredible expence, and with far different views than the encouragement of commercial speculations. The canals by which these docks communicate with Bruges and Ostend, that the navy of Napoleon might run no risks by passing on the high seas, are vast works, which must have cost enormous sums of money. The Scheld is here about half the width of the Thames at Westminster; but Antwerp is above fifty miles from its mouth. Its depth is very considerable; and such was at one period the commerce of Antwerp, that not less than 2000 vessels annually entered its port. The present population of this city is stated at 60,000. There are manufactures of lace, silk, chocolate, and extensive establishments for refining sugar. The export of the productions of the fruitful district which surrounds the city is very considerable. Nothing proves more strongly the riches of these provinces, than the short period in which they recover the evils of a campaign; and it was their fertility in grain, which principally rendered them of such importance to the French government. During the late scarcity in France, the crops succeeded tolerably well here; and Buonaparte obliged the inhabitants of Belgium to supply France at a price which he fixed himself, and by which they lost considerably.

There are many buildings at Antwerp, which are justly admired for their magnificence, particularly the cathedral, which, like many other churches here, was decorated by the pencil of Rubens. The tower of the cathedral is a rich specimen of Gothic. The general effect of this building is lessened by a number of mean houses which surround it. The church of St. Andre contains a monument to the memory of Mary Queen of Scotland. The town-house is a large building; its façade is 250 feet in length, and is composed of all the orders of architecture. Many of the streets at Antwerp are tolerably well built. I was informed that many individuals have good collections of paintings, by the chief painters which this country has produced. It is impossible to pass through Flanders without being struck with the exactness with which its painters have represented the face of their country, and the persons of its inhabitants. Antwerp, on the whole, has a tolerably cheerful appearance. The promenade of Penipiere is pleasant, and much frequented by the citizens.

The country between Antwerp and Gand, presents, like the rest of Flanders, a level surface, highly cultivated, traversed by excellent roads, running in straight lines from one town to another. I must, however, own that I have seldom traversed a more uninteresting country. But as the reign of a prince, which affords the fewest incidents for the commemoration of the historian, is thought to be often the most fortunate for the interests of his subjects, so a country, which is passed over in silence by the tourist, as devoid of those natural beauties, which fix his attention, often contains the most land susceptible of cultivation, which best repays the labours of the husbandman, and is the most valuable to the possessor. Many of the Flemish inns are very neat; but the traveller who has recently quitted Germany, is struck with their inferiority in point of decoration (although, perhaps, in no other respect) to those of that country, which abound with gilding, trophies, and armorial bearings, to invite the stranger, who here has a less shewy intimation of the entertainment he seeks for. The peasants here commonly wear wooden shoes; and they who do not consider how powerful is the force of custom, are surprised how they contrive to walk so well, in such awkward and clumsy machines.