Bellevue, in the Place Royale. The
situation is good. In a large square, and in front of our hotel, is the
magnificent statue, in bronze, of Godfrey, Duke of Boulogne, the cast of
which we so admired as the Crusader, in the exhibition. In this square
Leopold was inaugurated King of Belgium.

Every traveller enters Brussels with expectation of pleasure. He has
heard that it is Paris in miniature; and then Byron has thrown around it
his witchery of song. I can see but a dull and dim resemblance to Paris.
Brussels, with its suburbs, which are quite large, has only a population
of one hundred and thirty thousand. The town is very clean, looks cosy,
and has some very beautiful edifices. But you come here full of fancy
about "Belgium's capital," "her beauty and her chivalry," and the
"windowed niche of that high hall," and you see at first only a plain,
good, comfortable town. However, there is quite enough of romance,
after all, in this same place; and when you traverse it thoroughly, you
find enough to call out deep interest; and before you leave it you are
much gratified, and, in all probability, feel desirous to see it again.
I like to be in places that have a history; and this Brussels has. Let
me tell you about this place. It stands on the brow of a high bill, and
the upper and lower towns are different affairs entirely. The summit is
covered with palaces, public buildings, boulevards, parks, &c, and the
lower part is in the valley of the River Senne. Brussels was a city in
709. In 976, the Emperor Otho held his court there; in 1044, it was
fortified and had seven gates; in 1405, a fire destroyed fourteen
hundred houses; and in 1549, it suffered from two earthquakes. But still
it grew and flourished under the dukes of Burgundy, and became famous
for tapestry, lace, and fire-arms. In the days of Charles V., the city
of Brussels was at its zenith. Philip II., his son, and his infamous
general, the Duke of Alva, ravaged this city and vicinage. The people
were fanatical, and the rulers cruel. In 1695, the city was besieged,
and four thousand houses destroyed by the bombardment. In 1794, Belgium
was annexed to France. After the battle of Waterloo, the Prince of
Orange was proclaimed sovereign of Belgium. In 1830, the revolution
displaced the Orange dynasty, and Belgium broke off from Holland; and
in 1831, the people chose Leopold for their king. The first thing I
wanted to see was the Hotel de Villa, which, many years ago, p