In one of these churches, an old lady was holding a stock of wax candles, some of which she insisted on our purchasing, that we might burn them for the benefit of our dead friends. In another we saw a gentleman of respectable appearance doing penance in a prostrate position upon the floor of the church, before the cross and image of the Savior, kissing the stone pavement with great fervor, and wetting it with tears. I imagined he might have committed in secret some great crime; I may have failed to do him justice.
In one of these cathedrals we witnessed a Catholic wedding, which was quite amusing—the bride and groom were kneeling before the altar, a priest with sacerdotal robes, with open Bible, wax tapers, and three silver goblets of wine, was performing the marriage ceremony, reading a sentence or two, repeatedly kissing the cross and quaffing the wine, waving his hands and pronouncing Latin, while in the background a little boy in a white gown, walking to and fro, swinging slowly, then rapidly, a small censer with smoking incense, accompanied with an occasional jingle of a bell. In the evening we attended the Royal Operatic Theatre, the most noted in Brussels, and the finest and most richly finished and artistically decorated I ever visited. The parquette was furnished with cushioned chairs, elegantly made, and sufficient room to pass without annoyance. Its sixtiered gallery, with elaborate carvings and splendid gildings, presented a grand appearance. I think the performances could not be surpassed.
We visited the National Palace, where the sessions of the Senate and Representatives are held, and were conducted through the various apartments. The Senate Hall is embellished with fifteen portraits of celebrated Belgians. These two halls had the appearance of comfort and convenience, rather than display.
The Hotel de Ville, the city hall, the most remarkable edifice in Brussels, has a graceful tower of three hundred and eighty-six feet in height; on the summit of its spire is a figure in bronze of Michael, the Archangel, eighteen feet high. A portion of this hall is occupied by the city council of Brussels, comprising thirty-one members. We noticed some magnificent tapestry four hundred years old, and a basin with the keys of the city made of beaten gold and silver two hundred years ago. In front of this hall stands a magnificent monument of Counts Egmont and Horn, who were unjustly executed by the notorious Duke of Alva, June 5th, 1568. A portion of this colossal structure contains figures in bronze representing the two counts on their way to execution. In the Hotel de Ville, we ascended by a winding staircase to the summit of its lofty tower, where we enjoyed a magnificent view of Brussels and its environs. Also, from this lofty height may be seen in the distance the "Lion Monument," a vast mound upon the battlefield of Waterloo, erected in commemoration of the great victory won by the allied powers under the Duke of Wellington.
We visited that memorable locality about ten miles distant from Brussels, spending several hours walking over the fields, still bearing traces of those bloody struggles, examining many points and localities of intense interest; but I will defer this subject for the present.
We left Brussels, Wednesday, December 11, and arrived in Paris the same evening.
Lorenzo Snow.
LETTER III.
Paris.—Visit to Versailles.—Bois de Boulogne.—St. Cloud.—Attend the National Assembly.—French glory.—Interview with the President of the French Republic.—Paris Register speaks of the Party.