y looked savagely at the Belgian monument, and one man fired
his musket at the lion, and the mark is still visible upon his chin.

We were much gratified at the farm-house of Hougomont; and the hour we
spent in its orchard and gardens will long be remembered by us all. I
have read an account of the attack upon the house, which says, "The
Belgian yeoman's garden wall was the safeguard of Europe, whose
destinies hung upon the possession of this house." The garden wall is
covered on the inside with ivy; and here we secured several roots of the
plant, and, having bought a basket at the farm-house, we planted them in
earth taken from beside the grave of a British officer, who fell in the
orchard; his tombstone bears the name of J.L. Blackman. These plants
will give us trouble to carry; but Dr. Choules has determined upon
carrying them home for Mr. Hall, whose stone house needs ivy on the
walls, and he intends obtaining roots from various places of interest in
Europe, to serve as mementoes of other lands.

The church is a small affair, but is full of the testimonies of love and
affection from fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, wives, children, and
friends, to those who fell in the bloody conflict.

We were annoyed by urchins, who beset our steps, eager to sell us
genuine relics of the field, which are likely to increase in number as
long as there is a demand for them. George, of course, was in his
element, and he did little but plant the different sites in his memory,
for the purpose of comparing notes, by and by, with Gleig, Headley, &c.,
&c.

I do not attempt to give you any thing like a description of the place,
or an account of the battle, as you have books which are devoted to
these points.

It is a circumstance worthy of notice that, in 1705, the Duke of
Marlborough came very near fighting a battle with the French, on this
ground, but was prevented by the Dutch commissioners who were with him.

We obtained some good engravings of the buildings that are famous for
their connection with the battle, but they are nothing like as fine as
the folio illustrated volume of colored engravings which we have so
often looked over with interest. I tried to get a copy in London at any
price, and would have given any thing in reason; but the work is out of
print and the market, and can only be gotten at the sale of a collector.

On returning to Brussels, and enjoying our dinner at a late hour, we
passed the evening in the Arca