BELGIUM.
CHAPTER I.
BRUSSELS—ANTWERP.
The Palaces of Brussels—Palace of the Prince of Orange—Embarrassment of the government respecting it—Description of the interior—Chambers of the Belgian legislature—Palais de la Nation—Constitution of Belgium—Variable franchise—Removal of the picture of Waterloo—The Park—Singular scenes of the revolution—Curious account of the adventures of an English party at the Hôtel de Bellevue during the riots at Brussels—Works of the Société du Renard at Brussels—The road to Antwerp—Villas—Old châteaux—House of Rubens and Teniers—The village of Vieux Dieux—Appearance of the country—The tower of the cathedral—Fortifications—Narrow streets—Palace of Napoleon—The houses—History of Antwerp—Festival of the ladies’ eve—Immense commerce in the sixteenth century—Closing of the Scheldt in 1648—Projects of Napoleon for Antwerp—Arsenal and locks —Trade from 1815 to 1830—Affected by the revolution—Transit trade of Belgium—Absurd system of competition with Holland—Rubens—Fêtes in his honour—Modern painters—Verboeckhoven—The Museum—Rubens’ genius—The Crucifixion—The adoration of the Magi—Vandyke—The cathedral—View from the tower—Crucifix made from the statue of Alva—Monument of Quentin Metsys—Interior of the church—Rubens’ Descent from the Cross—The tomb of Rubens in the Church of St. Jacques—Church of St. Paul—The Calvary and Purgatory—Aspect of a Roman Catholic place of worship—A lady of Antwerp at vespers—St. Andrews’ Church—Superb pulpit—Monument to Mary Queen of Scotland—Dinner with M. David—Want of carpets in continental houses—The Citadel—Extraordinary scene—General Chassé—The patriot army—The singular history of its three commanders—The bombardment—Places at the theatre to see the siege.
The palaces of Brussels, which we have been visiting to-day are two; that of the King is a heavy looking building, which was formerly two houses separated by a street, which have now been united, and patched up into one residence, more remarkable for solidity than beauty. It contains, however, some splendid rooms, especially a grand ball-room for state occasions, and a few paintings of high excellence. Close by it, is that of the Prince of Orange, which has been a source of much embarrassment to the Belgian government. It was erected for the Prince out of a fund, voted for the purpose by the nation in recognition of his military services at Waterloo; and it was furnished, I think, in part, at least, at his own charge. But the whole was barely completed when the Revolution of 1830 drove the Prince, whom the people so recently delighted to honor, from his domains and his newly acquired house.
What was now to be done with the palace! Could the people who had so recently conferred it on him wrest it back? Had the Prince of Orange been King, the case would have been different, but he was still no more than a private gentleman, during the life time of his father. He was not personally responsible for any political offences charged against the crown, and the confiscation of his property would, therefore, have been an act of private wrong. Still there was not wanting a party among the esprits forts of the Revolution, to urge its appropriation to the purposes of the state. On the other hand, the Prince naturally indignant at the expulsion of his family, hesitated to take any steps for the removal of his property, and the entire of the gorgeous furniture, both of this palace and another at Treveuren on the borders of the Forest of Soignies, given to him under the same circumstances, and at the same time, by the nation, were left behind untouched, but by no means abandoned, as they were still under the charge of his domestics and agents.
Perhaps, too, in addition to the national unwillingness of the Prince by the breaking up of his establishment, to avow his consciousness of the utter hopelessness of the family ever retrieving their lost position; he may have felt that his deserted palace, with all its portraits, statues, busts and paintings, its sumptuous decorations and elegant and refined bijouterie, left as he had last used them, apparently, in all the hurry and alarm of flight, would be a desirable memento to leave behind him to the party who still sighed for the restoration of his house. And that on this consideration, he was in no haste to make any new disposition of it.
Be it as it may, however, the palace and all its contents remained under the protection of the Belgian government, though in the actual custody of the Prince’s servants, down to the final ratification of the treaty for the independence of Belgium in 1839, and visitors were admitted to its sumptuous apartments on obtaining an order from the minister of finance. That formal abandonment, however, by Holland, of every recognized claim upon its sequestrated dominions, left the Prince of Orange no further pretext for the apparent desertion of his property, and within the last few weeks, the contents of the palace have been in process of removal to the Hague. The books, the paintings and bijouterie are already gone, and the rest of the furniture is speedily to follow, so that, at present, the only objects to be seen, are the hangings of embroidered silk and velvet, the superb ormolu candelabra in the ball room, the gilded chairs, and almost priceless tables of lapis lazuli and malachite, one of which has been estimated, I know not how correctly, at 500,000 francs, and another at three times that sum. They were presents from the Emperor of Russia to his sister the Princess of Orange, together with the slabs of Siberian granite, with which the walls of some of the magnificent saloons are encased, and which is of extraordinary whiteness and beauty.
The exterior of this really superb residence, for it is too small to correspond with our ideas of the magnitude of a palace, is utterly unworthy of its matchless contents and internal decorations, but both taken together, are said to have cost upwards of twenty millions of francs, and before its dismantlement, it was beyond all comparison or question, the most recherché mansion in Europe. Perhaps the most interesting apartments are those of the Princess, consisting of the usual bedrooms, baths, boudoir, library, and reception rooms, all of which remained undisturbed as their illustrious occupant had left them, when setting out on that journey to the Hague, whence she little imagined she was never again to return to Brussels. Her books and drawings still lay upon the table, her writing materials and some papers on the portfolio beside them, and all the charming little nic-nacs of the boudoir still remained undisturbed from the disposition in which her own hand had last arranged them. It is not possible that the sympathy which even a foreigner feels on a visit to such a spot, should not have been warmly shared by a large proportion of the Belgians themselves, with these interesting souvenirs perpetually before them. I presume the palace will still be left open for the public; and even if divested of its more luxurious ornaments, its marble walls, rich ceilings, and floors of costly marqueterie, will still render it the bijou of Brussels.
The building in which the Belgian parliament holds its sittings, is situated in the same square, on the side opposite to that occupied by the royal palace. It is a large, Grecian edifice, with a considerable quantity of sculpture and architectural decoration externally, but within, its passages and chambers have almost a republican simplicity and absence of ornament. The main edifice itself is not new, having been erected by Maria Theresa, for the ancient Conseil de Brabant—it now bears the commodious name of the Palais de la Nation. Adjoining it, in the Rue de la Loi, the Downing Street of Brussels, are the official residences and offices of the ministers of finances and public works, and the home and foreign secretaries of state.