"I don't know; except that this is some saint's day—St. James, I believe; but there is something of this kind in Brussels nearly every Sunday; and I have seen several minor displays in the streets in the evening."
"I am surprised to see how much respect the people pay to their religion. If they have these displays often, I should think they would become stale."
"It appears they do not. I have a great deal more consideration and respect for these exhibitions in Belgium than in some other parts of Europe, for the reason that all religions enjoy the utmost toleration here. The people are almost exclusively Catholic, and yet they permit Protestants and Jews entire freedom in the exercise of their religion, and pay them their fair share of the government money."
At two o'clock dinner was ready at the Hôtel Royal; and it need not be added that the boys also were ready. Half an hour later the whole party had been loaded into stage-coaches, which, in an hour and a half, set them down on the battle-field of Waterloo. For two hours they wandered about the field, or rather up and down the two principal roads which pass through it. On the highest ground of the field, where there is a mound two hundred feet high, surmounted by the Belgic Lion, Mr. Mapps gave a brief account of the great battle, pointing out the spots of the greatest interest, including the road by which Blucher arrived. The subject is too vast for these pages; but it will be alluded to in the summary of French history in a subsequent volume.
There are several monuments, and columns, and obelisks on the battle-field, which mark the fall of distinguished men or their burial-places. Beneath the great mound are buried thousands of all the armies represented in this historical conflict, which settled, for a time, the fate of Europe. The field is the harvest-ground of a multitude of beggars, relic-hunters, and guides, who bore visitors almost to death with old buttons, musty rags, flattened bullets, bones, and other articles, which they produce as keepsakes of the battle. The stock of these things probably failed long ago, and the traveller may well be suspicious of the genuineness of anything which may be offered to him by these leeches.
At six the stages conveyed the tourists to the Groenendael Station, on the railway to Namur, where they arrived after a ride of an hour, express time. This place is the "Belgian Sheffield," being largely engaged in the manufacturing of arms, cutlery, and hardware. Its vicinity contains rich mines of iron, coal, and marble. Many battles and sieges have occurred in this place; and Don John of Austria, sent by Philip II. to subdue the country, was buried here. The city contains a population of twenty-six thousand, and is beautifully located at the junction of the Meuse and Sambre Rivers. The train stopped here but an hour; and the students roamed through some of the principal streets, which, however, were too much like those of places they had visited before to excite any especial interest.
Two hours later, they arrived at Liége, which was to be the eastern limit of the excursion. As before, Mr. Fluxion had preceded them, and engaged accommodations at the hotels. The students were very tired, and not disposed to explore the city of the bishops that night. Before breakfast on the following morning, Mr. Mapps gave them the history and other interesting particulars relating to the city, when they had assembled in the old citadel of St. Walburg, which overlooks the town.
"Liége, whose Flemish name is Luik, contains one hundred and nine thousand inhabitants, who are principally concerned in the various manufactures of iron, and especially in the making of cannon and arms," said the professor. "I observed to you before, that this part of the country bears some resemblance to New England. As you have an opportunity to observe for yourselves, the scenery is very fine, but rather of the pleasant and quiet description.
"The province of Liége, of which this city is the capital, was formerly governed by a line of bishops; and those of you who have read Scott's Quentin Durward will remember William de la Marck, the Wild Boar of Ardennes, whose adventures are located in this vicinity. In the tenth century, the bishops of Liége were made sovereigns by the German emperor, and received the name of Prince-Bishops. But the burghers of Liége, like those of Ghent, had a will and a way of their own, and frequently rebelled against the bishops, in support of their rights; and Charles the Bold took the rulers under his protection. Still they persisted in revolting, and Charles destroyed the city, as a punishment, in 1468. Fifteen years later, William de la Marck murdered the prince-bishop, in order to obtain the mitre-crown for his son. This was the beginning of the insurrection, in which, as I have related to you before, Charles the Bold compelled the king of France to march against the rebels.
"The place was subsequently captured by the French; the bishops were expelled at the commencement of the French Revolution, but were restored by the Austrians two years later. In 1794 it was annexed to France; but after the battle of Waterloo it was incorporated into the new kingdom of the Netherlands. In 1830 the old spirit of the burghers of Liége revived, and they were among the foremost promoters of the Belgian Revolution."