of the waters-we see them heaving to and fro over a | knowledge of this Liege, this town of activity and comhundred drowning despairing souls, while a light-a merce, is through the medium of the poet-novelist, the solitary light-by some spell hangs over the spot, as if great known "Unknown!" it were a warning token from those gone down into the deep. A grasp on our arm-we spring aside as if from a serpent. "What, in the name of wonder, are you about, my dear? I've been seeking you everywhere, and supper's been waiting this half-hour." RAMBLES IN BELGIUM. No. VII.-LIEGE AND VERVIERS. There are several churches in Liege, but from what I had heard of their relative merits, I visited one only, St. Jacques. The interior did not please me at all: profuse in very florid Gothic architecture, with rich embellishments, traceries, arabesques, and gildings, there was a total want of repose, of that chaste simpli city which, to my thinking, best becomes the house of prayer. All through Flanders, this same feeling forced itself on my notice wherever I went; meretricious and elaborate ornaments continually supplying the place of solemn avenues of arches, simply but appropriately adorned. In our own cathedrals what effect can be more beautiful, or more impressive, than their interiors convey? There is a singleness or quietude of art, which is, after all, the true grandeur; as at sea, what less roll of the ever-moving waves; when not a ship, or is more striking, or more magnificent, than the ceaseanimate or inanimate thing, disturbs the view of the is no moon, and the air is very clear and cold, how brilliant are the stars, how lustrously they burn in their sphered orbs, undimmed by the superior brilliancy of the poetic moon! mistaking reality in all the churches and chapels during One thing, I must confess, manifested itself in unthe hours of divine service throughout my wanderings in this country, the apparent devotion, and wrapt earnestness of the entire congregation. Nothing could or would distract their attention from the serious offices of their religion. If strangers came in to examine the paintings, or admire the buildings, it was all one to them, Heartily engaged in solemn prayer, they heeded no intruthey moved not, nor exhibited any sign of disturbance. sions, however unwelcome or regardless. My fancy upon one particular occasion, in this very place, and in the church before mentioned, led me, albeit to the detriment of my own countrymen, to compare the effect of some new comers or strangers entering a place of worship in a metropolitan suburb, or rural district in old England. THE entrance to Liege, owing to the moonlight falling on the waters of the Meuse, was much more picturesque at night than I found it to be by day. The town is very different from either Ghent or Bruges. There are none of the old halls, and archi-wide expanse of waters. So, too, at night, when there tectural accessories, which render those towns such objects of attraction. Coal, too, is found in abundance in the neighbourhood, and produces a corresponding increase of smoke and dirt. There are several manufactories for fire-arms. I visited a workshop, where I found a brawny fellow, worthy to follow his professsion, as he termed it, of armourer. He offered me a doublebarrelled gun, apparently proved, and well made, for twenty-nine francs. It was made on the old principle of flint locks; he informed me that neither he nor his confrères had as yet adopted the percussion caps; and added, that he did not consider them any improvement on the older fashion. Large quantities of fire-arms are annually exported to all parts of the world, and have even found their way to the great marts of England. This may be readily believed, inasmuch as the cost of their production is so much less than our own. There is a foundry of cannon in the town, which continues its operations in a very flourishing manner. Near the Black Eagle is a fountain of very fair design, and presenting a good contrast in its soothing, lulling sound, to the noise and bustle which pervade the streets. The shops are well supplied, but I found them not at all more reasonable than in London, and in articles of drapery most decidedly inferior. One linen draper's stores had a very familiar, yet odd aspect; for wherever the eye could penetrate, there were to be seen displayed Manchester prints, and a great number of plaids of every hue and pattern; these were accompanied with special notices in good old English characters of their excellent quality, and warranted British manufacture. It did not require much time or attention to discover that there is very little in this city to excite the interest of tourists, whether antiquarians, artists, or gentlemanly idlers. The Palais de Justice was the first point to which I hastened. It is chiefly remarkable for an inner court full of arcades, which are supported by low pillars, each of which is embellished in a different manner to its fellow. Returning at night to visit it again, there was a strange and fine effect produced by the moon-beams lingering on the columns, which threw the more distant parts of the building into so sudden a shade that it appeared to be the very spot for some stirring incident, such as may be found in the pages of some mysterious romance. Then came, naturally enough, thoughts of "Quentin Durward," and the "Great Wizard of the North." I was sorry not to be able to lay my hand on his fascinating tale, and so to trace upon the spot the scenes so admirably told. What a high prerogative has genius! What a power to elevate the common-place and material above its true and real position! How many persons are there in this working world, whose only acquaintance or There are some charming views to be obtaind in the vicinity of Liege. The Meuse is the grand contributing feature. The junction of the Ourthe with this river, so sweetly sonneted by Wordsworth, takes place close to the town. The Vesdre, which is a small shallow unnavigable river, soon joins them, and the three conspire to render the situation of the valley altogether beautiful. Quitting Liege for Verviers, the road winds up a toilsome ascent, which being filled by a troop of soldiery, mounted and in good order, had a picturesque appearance, exceedingly showy and good, as the early morning sun glittered on the habiliments of the men. The middle of the highway was paved, and the driver of the carriage, a most steady-looking and grave-faced man, invariably kept his horses upon it, and whenever, which was a very unfrequent occurrence, another vehicle approached him, deliberately made his team stand still. By the way-side were many crosses, and wretchedly executed figures of the Virgin Mary, and numberless | saints. It was impossible to stop the horses at anything which || attracted one's notice, for the beggars were "legion," some of them most miserable objects, chiefly of the softer sex, imploring, begging, praying, screaming, shouting, entreating, crying, and occasionally, it would seem, imprecating, and all this pour l'amour de Dieu. At a little inn, the host brought out some flat cakes of oaten bread; in my blissful feeling of ignorance, I fancied it was intended for Monsieur le Voyageur; not so, for the imperturbable coachman slowly descended from his seat, and after quietly unfastening the bridles and reins, handed the delicacies to the animals, who, truth to say, appeared much in want of, and relished them accordingly. When they had nearly consumed this extraordinary provender, mine host remembered that possibly Monsieur would please to alight and take what his poor house could afford. It was my wish to proceed, but the lord of the box informed me that his horses were not common animals, and being of some extraordinarily gifted nature, would certainly stop another half hour. There was no help for it, so out I got, and ensconced myself in an odd looking but cheerful room, apparently as old as the middle ages. Here I was regaled with some Belgian buns, and a tumbler of milk, which had been boiled and sweetened to excess. When the horses were quite ready to continue the journey, I was summoned to enter the vehicle, which was driven at a rate which made me believe that both the driver and horses had had a "wee drappie." It was not long before Verviers was reached. It is a straggling manufacturing town on the banks of the Vesdre. All descriptions of worsted and cloth are made here. The inhabitants did not give any idea of an unwholesome occupation, nor did the place look at all like the manufacturing districts of the north of England. The surrounding scenery, and the wide handsome streets, and clean-looking habitations, had a cheerful healthy look, which differed from many other towns of a like stamp, even in Belgium. In a conversation held with a very intelligent gentleman, who was much in terested in the prosperity and respectability of his country, I heard much of the revolution which seated King Leopold on the throne. Sad havoc was the consequence of the revolutionary sentiments finding their way here. All sorts of depredations were committed, many valuable pieces of machinery were utterly destroyed, and it took the more respectable citizens a long time to restrain the passions of the angry multitude, and to bring their turbulent and rebellious blood into a calmer channel. It is here where the woollen trade is carried on to the most considerable amount. The workmen in very many instances employ themselves in their own dwellings, as in the case of the fire-arms manufacturing at Liege. From the little I could glean after and during an inspection of several large factories, I came to the conclusion that capital is wanted to increase and carry on the trade, which without it must inevitably decline. Within a few miles is Eupen, the frontier of the Prussian dominions. With the exception of a ruinous town, dreary, desolate, and melancholy, and which harmonizes exactly with the character of the surrounding hills and dales, there is no remarkable object of which mention need be made. I was bound for Malines, but instead of retracing my steps, I preferred taking to the railroad, which bore me with its rapid wings to my destination in a few hours. FORTUNE'S WANDERINGS IN CHINA.' THIS is without exception the most interesting book of travel of the season; it is a book thoroughly devoid of all pretension or attempt at book-making. Previous to the war, our knowledge of China and the Chinese was limited enough, and what was known was in too many instances grossly exaggerated, and mixed up with very pleasant fictions. A determination on the part of the natives of all classes and in all parts of the empire of the "Flowery Land," to envelope their actions in mystery, served for a length of time to render their country a complete terra ignota, and also to promote the extension and diffusion of all kinds of absurd stories, which a little mystery always prompts the lovers of the marvellous to originate. It is very seldom that war, that most devastating of Three Years' Wanderings in the Northern Provinces of China. By Robert Fortune, Botanical Collector to the Horticultural Society. London, Murray, 1847. all evils, is productive of good results; but it is most earnestly to be hoped that now that the war is at an end, civilisation and Christianity may work their way hand in hand in the Celestial Empire. At all events, one good has ensued :-Mr. Fortune has given us by far the most authentic, valuable, and truthful epitome that has ever appeared of an Englishman's intercourse with these strange people. He was despatched, soon after the news of the peace first reached England, as botanical collector to the Horticultural Society of London, and in pursuit of the Society's objects travelled through a vast extent of territory. That those persons to whom botany is a drug may not be deterred from following in the wake of Mr. Fortune, we can assure them of a plentiful stock of amusing matter, worthy their attention, as highly illustrative of Chinese manners and customs. Take for example his account of a visit to one of the greatest lions of Chusan, an artificial hatcher of ducks' eggs. "Walking through the city, and out at the north gate, I passed through some rice-fields, the first crop of which had been just planted, and a five minutes' walk brought me to the poor man's cottage. He received me with Chinese politeness; asked me to sit down, and offered me tea and his pipe,-two things always at hand in a Chinese house, and perfectly indispensable. Having civilly declined his offer, I asked permission to examine his hatching-house, to which he immediately led the way. The Chinese cottages are generally wretched buildings of mud and stone, with damp earthen floors, scarcely fit for cattle to sleep in, and remind one of what Scottish cottages were a few years ago, but which now, happily, are among the things that were. My new friend's cottage was no exception to the general rule: bad-fitting, loose, creaking doors, paper windows, dirty and torn, ducks, geese, fowls, dogs, and pigs, in the house and at the doors, and apparently having equal rights with their masters. "Then there were children, grandchildren, and for aught that I know, great-grandchildren, altogether forming a most motley group, which, with their shaved heads and long tails, and strange costume, would have formed a capital subject for the pencil of Cruikshank. The hatching-house was built at the side of the cottage, and was a kind of long shed, with mud walls, and thickly thatched with straw. Along the ends and down one side of the building are a number of round straw baskets, well plastered with mud, to prevent them from taking fire. In the bottom of each basket there is a tile placed, or rather the tile forms the bottom of the basket; upon this the fire acts,-a small fire-place being below each basket. Upon the top of the basket there is a straw cover, which fits closely, and which is kept shut whilst the process is going on. In the centre of the shed are a number of large shelves, placed one above another, upon which the eggs are laid at a certain stage of the process. When the eggs are brought they are put into the baskets, the fire is lighted below them, and a uniform heat kept up, ranging, as nearly as Í could ascertain by some observations which I made with a thermometer, from 95° to 102°; but the Chinamen regulate the heat by their own feelings, and therefore it will, of course, vary considerably. In four or five days after the eggs have been subject to this temperature, they are taken carefully out one by one, to a door in which a number of holes have been bored, nearly the size of the eggs; they are then held against these holes, tell whether they are good or not. If good, they are and the Chinamen look through them, and are able to taken back and replaced in their former quarters; if bad, they are of course excluded. In nine or ten days after this, that is, about fourteen days from the commencement, the eggs are taken from the baskets, and spread out on the shelves. Here no fire heat is applied, but they are covered over with cotton, and a kind of blanket, under which they remain about fourteen days | Fruits and vegetables in abundance, bird's nest soup, more, when the young ducks burst their shells, and the shed teems with life. These shelves are large, and capable of holding many thousands of eggs; and when the hatching takes place, the sight is not a little curious. The natives who rear the young ducks in the surrounding country know exactly the day when they will be ready for removal, and in two days after the shell is burst, the whole of the little creatures are sold, and conveyed to their new quarters." and all sorts of excellent cates succeeded one another in great rapidity. Occasionally the Chinese smoked, then ate à discretion. Enough is as good as a feast, however, and in this instance especially. "We had now been three or four hours at table, and although the whole affair had been very amusing, we had had enough of it, and were beginning to tire. How long shall the dinner last? said I to a linguist who was The curiosity displayed by the inhabitants of the vil-placed next to me, and who had most politely explained lages and localities where our traveller wandered appears to have been intense. Hundreds of men, women, and children flocked eagerly to see the barbarian. There is a most graphic account of one of the principal methods employed by this singular people of catching fish, by means of the cormorant. The extract would be too long for our purpose, besides the whole chapter should be read to appreciate the vividness of the description. The dwarfing of trees is a curious process :— "Stunted varieties were generally chosen, particularly if they had the side branches opposite or regular, for much depends upon this; a one-sided dwarf tree is of no value in the eyes of the Chinese. The main stem was then in most cases twisted in a zig-zag form, which process checked the flow of the sap, and at the same time encouraged the production of side branches at those parts of the stem where they were most desired. When these suckers had formed roots in the open ground, or kind of nursery where they were planted, they were looked over, and the best taken up for potting. Whilst the branches were forming, they were tied down and twisted in various ways; the points of the leaders and strong growing ones were generally nipped out, and every means were taken to discourage the production of young shoots which were possessed of any degree of vigour. Nature generally struggles against this treatment for a while, until her powers seem in a great measure exhausted, when she quietly yields to the power of art." Mr. Fortune had an invitation to go to the house of a mandarin, to see a theatrical performance, or "SingSong," and to dine afterwards à la Chinois. Tea was immediately handed round. Shortly afterwards a servant came with a tray full of wet warm towels, not unlike those generally used in kitchens at home, and presented one to each of us. At first we could not conjecture what these were for; but on looking at our Chinese friends, we observed them rubbing their faces and hands with them, and, although not very agreeable to us, we immediately did the same. I afterwards found that this was a common custom amongst the Chinese, and I have often been much refreshed by it after a warm walk. In hot countries like China, this plan is much better, and more conducive to health, than either washing, or bathing in cold water. While this was going on in the house, the players were getting everything ready in the large room where the performance was to take place. In a little while one of them entered the room where we were, carrying in his hand several fine long ivory cards, on which were written a number of the most popular plays of the day, any one of which the players were ready to perform at the command of our host and his friends." The actors, it seems, were all men, and wore most superb costumes. There was no scenery, other than a screen. The feats of tumbling, fencing, and pantomime, were very curious and entertaining. The acting was accompanied with a sort of singing, and plenty of noise, made by gongs, and wind instruments like bagpipes. The play having occupied three mortal hours, the dinner began, and a seemingly interminable aflair it was. ment. every thing which had occurred during the entertainhours longer, but if you want to go away you may do so 'Oh,' said he, it will last for three or four now.' We were very glad to find that Chinese etiquette permitted us to withdraw, and ordered our chairs, which were waiting in the court-yard to receive us. "Our host and his friends lighted us out with lanterns, and we took our departure in the same style in which we came. So ended my first Chinese dinner." The difficulty of managing the chop-sticks, upon this and other occasions, afforded much entertainment to the natives, and gave some trouble to the English traveller. There is a chapter devoted to the tea plant, its culture, mode of growth, method of gathering, drying, &c., from the perusal of which it is impossible to rise without having very considerably increased in knowledge of the subject. It is written without pe dantry or affectation, and so clearly that he who runs may read and learn. The following is the mode of smoking opium pursued by the Chinese :- "Opium is prepared for smoking, and is kept in small cups, which are made for the purpose. The smoker lays his head upon a pillow, has a lamp by his side, and. with a kind of needle, he lifts a small portion of the opium to the candle; and having ignited it, he puts it into the small aperture of the bowl of the pipe. The candle is applied to the bowl during the process of inhaling, and the smoke is drawn into the lungs in the same manner as an Indian or Chinese swallows tobacco. A whiff or two is all that can be drawn from a single pipe, and therefore those who are accustomed to the use of the drug have frequently to renew the dose." The denizen of Cockaigne will doubtless be surprised to find that Baths and Washing-Houses are to be regarded as regular public institutions in China. "In the town of Shanghae, as well as in many other large Chinese towns, there are a number of hot-water bathing establishments, which must be of great importance as regards the health and comfort of the natives. I will describe one which I passed daily during my resi dence in Shanghae. There are two outer rooms, used for undressing and dressing; the first, and largest, is for the poorer classes; the second, for those who consider themselves more respectable, and who wish to be more private. As you enter the largest of these rooms, a placard, which is hung near the door, informs you what the charges are, and a man stands there to receive the money on entrance. Arranged in rows down the middle small boxes, or lockers, furnished with lock and key,| and round the sides of both rooms, are a number of into which the visitors put their clothes, and where they can make sure of finding them when they return from the bathing room, which is entered by a small door at the farther end of the building, and is about 30 feet long and 20 feet wide; the water occupying the whole space, except a narrow path round the sides. sides of the bath are lined with marble slabs, from The water is from 1 foot to 18 inches deep, and the which the bathers step into the water, and on which they sit and wash themselves: the furnace is placed on the outside, and the flues are carried below the centre 1 of the bath. Those visitors who use the common room, pay only six copper cash; the others pay eighteen, but they have in addition a cup of tea and a pipe of tobacco from the proprietors. I may mention, that one hundred copper cash amount to about 44d. of our money; so that the first class enjoy a hot-water bath for about one farthing! and the other a bath, a private room, a cup of tea, and a pipe of tobacco for something less than one penny!" The question of the black and green teas being taken from the same plant is here decided. "I have stated in a former chapter, that the teaplant of the northern green tea districts, is the true Thea viridis of botanists. I was now fortunate enough, not only to find an extensive tea district, but also to be present when the natives were picking and preparing the leaves; and I not only procured specimens for my herbarium, but also a living plant, which I afterwards Agriculture is carried on in the most extensive took to the green tea hills of the north, aad found, on manner, but it would seem that, as their forefathers did, minute comparison, that it was identical with the Thea In other words, the black and green teas so do they now. Progress or improvement in this viridis. respect seems out of the question. The Emperor, him- which generally come to England from the northern self, after three days' prayer, engages in farming pro-and the difference of colour, flavour, &c., is solely the provinces of China, are made from the same species, cesses, in order to prove his high estimate of the result of the different modes of preparation." importance of cultivating the earth. The manner of burying their dead is curious; tombs, graves, coffins are met with in all sorts of places. the Chinese not excepted. a voyage. "The Chinese sailor never goes to sea without first presenting an offering to the gods to propitiate them, in order that the voyage may be a speedy and successful one. Accordingly, on this day, the cabin of our junk was set in order, and the tables covered with dishes of pork, mutton, fruits, and vegetables. Candles and incense were burned upon the tables for a short time, and the whole business had something solemn and imposing about it. The cook, who seemed to be the high priest, conducted all the ceremonies. On other days, as well as this, it was part of his duty to light the candles in the little temple, where the gods were kept, as well as to burn incense, and prostrate himself before them." "In the south, the natives form no regular cemeteries or churchyards as we do in Europe, but the tombs of the dead are scattered all over the sides of the hills, the most pleasant situations being generally selected. The more wealthy individuals often convey their dead a considerable distance, and employ a kind of fortuneteller, whose duty it is to find out the most appropriate resting place. This man goes with the corpse to the place appointed, and, of course, pretends to be very wise in the selection of the spot, as well as in the choice of the soil with which the ashes of the dead are to mingle in after years; and upon trial, should the particular earth appear unsuitable, he immediately orders the procession off to some other place in the neigh bourhood, where he expects to be more successful. I believe many of the Chinese have this important point settled before they die; for one day, when one of our principal merchants went to call on old Howqua, the late Hong merchant at Canton, a tray was brought into the room with several kinds of earth upon it, which the old man examined with great care, and then fixed on the one in which he wished to be buried. A situa-On our parts, we can assure him a great treat, and may tion on the hill side is also considered of great import- fairly state in conclusion, that this work is the most ance, especially if it commands a view of a beautiful precious contribution towards our knowledge of an bay or lake. But, I believe, that of all places, the one extraordinary race of people. most coveted is, where a winding stream, in its course, passes and then returns again to the foot of the hill where the grave is to be made. The director of the ceremonies, with a compass in his hand, settles the direction in which the body is to lie, which is another point of great importance. "An intelligent Chinese, with whom I was acquainted, informed me that this fortune-teller of the dead is often very eloquent in his descriptions of the future happiness of those who obey his directions; he informs them that they or their children, or some one in whom they are much interested, shall enjoy riches and honours in after life, as a reward for the attention and respect they have paid to the remains of their fathers;-that as the stream which they then behold, when standing around their father's grave, flows and returns again in its windings, so shall their path through life be smooth and pleasant until they sink into the tomb, hoary with years, respected, beloved, and mourned by their children. These men are generally great rogues, and play upon the prejudices of the people. "It frequently happens, that after a corpse has been interred for some time, they call upon the relatives and inform them, that for some cause, which they affect to explain, it is absolutely necessary to remove, and reinter it. Should the relations object to this, the answer is, 'Very well; I don't care; but your children and relations will also be regardless of your remains when you die, and you will be miserable in your graves." The feelings of the poor deluded people are thus wrought upon, and a further sum of money is extracted for finding a more suitable grave." There is a most exciting and interesting scene on board this same junk, when the pirates make their appearance. For all account of this, however, the reader must consult Mr. Fortune's delightful volume. TRAVELS IN THE STEPPES OF THE CASPIAN SEA. THE Volume before us forms one of that really valuable series of good and cheap works "The Foreign Library," and affords, like almost all its predecessors, much valuable and important information, which would otherwise be unknown to a large portion of the public. It is inferior to none of the early volumes, and gives a very much more perfect History of Southern Russia than any work on the same subject with which we are acquainted. Our limits will not allow us on the present occasion to do more than give a very brief extract; and although we have suffered a severe winter, we have not been visited with any thing like the SNow HURRICANES of Odessa. or else it is driven through the air like a long white veil, expanding and folding on itself until the wind has scattered its last shreds before it. In order to pass from one house to another, people are obliged to dig paths through the snow, often two yards deep. Whole flocks of sheep, surprised by the tempest not far from their folds, and even herds of horses, have been driven into the sea and drowned. When beset by such dangers their instinct usually prompts them to cluster together in a circle, and form a compact mass, so as to present less surface to the metel. But the force of the wind gradually compelling them forwards, they approach the shore, the ground fails them, and finally they all disappear beneath the waves." Poetry. [In Original Poetry, the Name, real, or assumed, of the Author, is printed in Small Capitals, under the title; in Selections it is printed in Italics at the end.] TIME AND THE MAIDEN. BY A. H. I. "Oh, gentle Time! give back to me And gentle Time, he heard her pray,- He brought her back the same sweet sky, Her voice, when she essayed to speak, It trembled as she strove to speak, But where is he for whom I seek, "The brightest hour from out the sky, "Far better, gentle Time, to be Than live the shining heavens to see, But Time, he answered mournfully, "I cannot bind a broken tie- I quench Love's sweet idolatry "Poor maiden! when long years are gone, Thy heart will tell thee clearly, To read of love which hath no place,— "How hadst thou borne th' averted eye, "Without one trace of that true light, The voice in saddest whisper died— Save the broad gulf which must divide Miscellaneous. "I have here made only a nosegay of culled flowers, and have brought nothing of my own, but the string that ties them."-Montaigne. THE usual monthly report of the Royal Astronomical Society for April, just published, contains amongst a variety of papers, a most interesting one entitled, "Observations of Hind's second comet in full sunshine." The visibility of a comet in the day time, and within two degrees distance from the sun, is a phenomenon of a rare occurrence, which Mr. Hind describes. He says, "I first saw the comet at 11 A.M., when the sky was perfectly cloudless about the sun, it had a whitish appearance; but during the passage of some clouds over the sun, and between the breaks, I obtained some excellent views of the comet. The nucleus was nearly round, beautifully defined and planetary, the diameter 8" or 10". Two faint branches of light formed a divided tail, like two longish erect ears or horns, arising from each side of the disc. At times I felt certain that the nucleus twinkled. The tail resembled a thin smoke." In a paper by Mr. Hind, on the expected re-appearance of the celebrated comet of 1264 and 1556, he observes, "the position of this comet in the heavens during the approaching re-appearance will be extremely unfavourable for observation; nearly the whole of the vast trajectory of this comet lies below the plane of the ecliptic, and far from the paths of the larger planets, but it extends into space more than twice the distance of the planet Neptune." |
