; but there is much of the space enclosed in fields and
gardens, and the population is not proportioned to the remaining
buildings, being no more than 30,000. The surrounding country is highly
picturesque and varied, cultivation and woods being interspersed. The
woods in this country have been, however, much diminished of late years.
But there are, it may be observed, coal mines to supply sufficient fuel
for the inhabitants.

The town or great village of Burscheid adjoins the gates of Aix; it is
very flourishing. Near it is a fine abbey. I was also pleased with the
ruins of the Castle of Frankenberg. Here is a manufactory of needles,
and about Aix are several of cloth.

From the Tower of Sittard is a view of vast extent over the Netherlands.
The cathedral of Aix is a large Gothic structure, but many of its
decorations are trifling, and inconsistent with the solidity of its
massy columns of marble and granite. Its doors are of bronze highly
wrought, but full of fissures.

The streets here are crowded with beggars; and I think I never was in a
place where so little respect is paid to the observance of Sunday. In
most towns on the continent the theatres, &c. are open, but most of the
shops are closed during some part of the day; here they were open during
the whole day, and seemed equally busy as during the rest of the week.

The country between _Aix_ and _Liege_ produces great quantities of hops
(the vine of the north of Europe), and the beer here is very good.
Clermont is a neat village, with several good houses.

We passed over some mountains, which seem to be the limit of the German
language; the inhabitants of them speak a dialect intelligible neither
at Liege nor Aix.

The country near Liege is rich, and the city is situated in a beautiful
valley on the Meuse; it is extremely large, but is ill built, and the
streets are more intricate and dirty even than those of Cologne. There
is a good deal of trade carried on here, and the population is estimated
at not less than 50,000. There are a great number of churches, but I was
not much struck with any of them; that of the Dominicans is said to be
copied from St. Peter's at Rome. There are a great number of booksellers
here, and I was told it was a famous place to procure cheap books. The
coal here seems of good quality, and the place is surrounded with
collieries. The lower orders in this city speak a jargon called
_Walloon_, which is completely unintelligible to the