ou wander about among the towns of Flanders and Brabant you
might think that the whole of Belgium was one level plain. But if you
leave Brussels and journey to the south, the aspect of the country
changes. Beyond the Forest of Soignies the tame, flat fields, the
formal rows of trees, and the long, straight roads begin to disappear,
the landscape becomes more picturesque, and soon you reach a river
called the Meuse, which flows along through a romantic valley, full
of quiet villages, gardens, woods, and hayfields, and enclosed by
steep slopes clothed with trees and thickets, and broken here and
there by dells, ravines, and bold, outstanding pinnacles of rock,
beyond which, for mile after mile, an undulating tableland is covered
by thick forests, where deer, wild boars, and other game abound. This
district is called the Ardennes.

In the Valley of the Meuse there are three old and famous
towns--Liege, Namur, and Dinant--each nestling at the side of the
river, at the foot of a hill with a castle perched upon it.

Other rivers flow into the Meuse. There is the Sambre, which runs from
the west, and joins the Meuse at Namur; the Lesse, which rushes in
from the south through a narrow gorge; and the Semois, a stream the
sides of which are so steep that there is not even a pathway along
them in some places, and travellers must pass from side to side in
boats when following its course.

This is the prettiest part of Belgium, and in summer many people, who
do not care for going to the seaside, spend the holidays at the towns
and villages which are dotted about in the valleys and among the hills
and woods.

CHAPTER V

BELGIAN CHILDREN: THE "PREMIERE COMMUNION"

The Belgians may be divided, roughly speaking, into five classes of
people. There are those of the highest rank, who are called the
_grande_, or _vraie, noblesse_. Of these there are not many, but they
belong to old families, some of which have been famous in the history
of their country. They have often fine country-houses, and the towns
in which you will find them most often are Brussels and Ghent. Then
come those of a much lower class, the _petite noblesse_, of whom there
are very many. They seldom mix in society with the _grande noblesse_,
and their friends are generally members of the _haute_, or _bonne,
bourgeoisie_. The _bonne bourgeoisie_ are like our middle class, and
there is no difference between them and the _petite noblesse_ as to
the way in whic