d 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 facade 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 tr