all descriptions, _a
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,

"Saepe mero caluisse virtus."

"His virtue oft with wine to warm."

The circumstance was recorded by the following inscription:

"Petrus Alexowitz, Czar Moscoviae, 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 situate