“Oh woman in our hours of ease,
Uncertain, coy, and hard to please,
And variable as the shade
By the light quivering aspin made,
When pain and anguish wring the brow
A minist’ring angel thou.”
Mrs. Drummond had a wonderful escape. Before she quitted her apartments at the commencement of the attack upon the town, shots passed through them, and in a few minutes afterwards they were filled with all kinds of projectiles: one ball in particular lodged itself on the fair lady’s pillow. In the afternoon of the second day of the battle, a Belgic gentleman and his family entered the cellar where they made good their quarters, having been previously staying in another part of the hotel nearer the King’s palace. There was something in this man’s appearance so disagreeable, that none of us felt disposed to give him a a very cordial reception, and the result proved that we were by no means unworthy disciples of Lavater. About the middle of Saturday (the third day) a Liegois chief came into the cellar evidently with a view to reconnoitre the party, when Mrs. Drummond, by one of those sudden impulses which seem to belong more to the secret workings of an all-directing providence, than to spring solely from human foresight, extended her hand to him, and begged him to embrace her, intimating at the same time that she trusted to him for protection. The chief nobly replied that with his life he would defend her, and shortly afterwards left the cellar. The kiss thus bestowed upon the cheek of this man, dirty and black as he was from the thick of the fight, was indeed a most lucky one for us, as it was certainly the means of saving the lives of the whole of our party both ladies and gentlemen. In three or four hours afterwards, there was more than usual bustle and noise in the house, in consequence of the burghers having occupied it in still greater force, and brought one of their guns into the yard, ready, upon the opening of a gate, to pour grape shot upon the troops immediately opposite in the park. It was at this moment also, that the Belgic gentleman hastily entered the cellar, and desired his family to follow him as quick as possible. He had scarcely reached the front gate, when the same Liegois chief above mentioned seized him as his prisoner. In fact he was a traitor, and had been strongly suspected by the burghers of giving provisions during the night to some officers of the royal troops through one of the gates facing the park. Certainly, many circumstances which it is needless to detail, tended to convince us that these suspicions were but too well founded. Had the burghers rushed into the cellar, there can be no doubt, considering the highly exasperated state they were in, that we should all have fallen victims to their rage. Another Liegois chief has since told me that having taken compassion upon this Belgic family, he used every exertion to restrain the fury of the burghers, and succeeded in conducting them to the Hôtel de Ville; still they were very roughly handled, and the mother and daughter (a beautiful girl of seventeen), were completely covered with mud which had been thrown at them. There were now many indications of a most desperate conflict in and about the hotel, and as our staying any longer there, seemed to subject us to the imminent risk of being massacred by the infuriated Dutch should they gain possession of the building, or of being buried in its ruins, should it be battered down, or set on fire, it became necessary to take some decided steps. The master of the hotel appeared to be much agitated. He had become a marked man from his having casually harboured the traitor, and from other circumstances. I shall never forget the style in which Lady C. Bentinck addressed him at this moment. She seemed to be fired with the spirit and decision of her illustrious uncle, and insisted upon the master giving his true opinion whether it was safer to quit, or to remain in the house. He declined for some time to give an opinion either way, but at last told her she had better go. Lady Bentinck instantly decided upon leaving, and the whole party agreed to follow her example. When in the act of preparing to depart, five or six armed burghers entered the cellar and offered to escort us to a place of greater safety. They had evidently been sent by the Liegois chief. The party now left the cellar: arrived at the gate, some little hesitation being shown, the Liegois chief whispered to Mrs. Drummond “Vite vite, Madame.” We sallied out, Lady Bentinck with her daughters leading the way. Captain Sibbourn with Mrs. Wollesley on one side and Miss Wollesley on the other were the next; behind them were Captain Dent and Mrs. Drummond, followed by Mr. Drummond and his little boy, the whole party being escorted by six burghers. The latter having conducted us along the Place Royale as far as the church, desired us to cross the Place with them as quickly as possible, as we had now to pass through a very heavy fire of grape shot and musketry. It was a most trying moment for the poor women, who could distinctly hear the shots whizzing past them. When we had got into the most exposed part of the Place, Mrs. Wollesley fell down, and it was quite impossible for Captain Sibbourn to get her on, as her daughter on his other arm was on the point of fainting at the sight of her mother on the ground. But two or three of the brave burghers, thinking the poor lady was wounded, ran forward from the cover under which they were firing, and carried her on their shoulders. It was quite a miracle that not one of the party was touched by a shot. The burghers having thus got us through the principal danger, conducted us by bye ways and back lanes to a house of great safety where we remained until the next morning, when we were obliged to go still further off, and to break up the party by securing such apartments as we could obtain in different hotels lower down in the town.”
We went to-day to see another of the great machine manufactories of Belgium, the works of La Société du Renard, which are the property of a joint stock company, who purchased them from their original proprietor. Though on a vast scale, they are by no means so extensive as the Phœnix at Ghent; they are calculated for the production of every description of machinery, but chiefly of locomotive engines, and the heavier articles. The establishment is fitted up for five hundred workmen, but at the time of our visit, it had not employment for more than fifty. The chief apartment is one spacious workshop nearly square, covered in, and so extensive, as to be traversed by a railway for the convenience of moving the heavier pieces. The directors had no orders in hand at the moment, but were preparing some locomotives upon speculation. The cost of one of these of thirty horse power, is about 40,000 francs.[2] I cannot but fear, that these large establishments have been inconsiderately run up in Belgium, and that the recent demand for machinery, both for railroads and factories, has given a hectic air of prosperity to Belgian manufactures, that has led to investments of this kind, far beyond her real wants. Even at present we find an universal protestation, that the quantity of machinery already in action, is more than sufficient to supply all the demands of her trade. At Ghent, we found the Phœnix works fully employed, a circumstance obviously accounted for, by the simultaneous erection of three joint stock spinning mills, but we were told, on the spot, that when the orders for these were completed, it was not clearly discernible whence others of similar importance were to come. In other parts of Belgium, the same diminution of employment is seriously felt, and the Renard is, as I have stated, almost at a stand still. The railroads of Belgium, when once supplied with engines, cannot possibly be expected to keep so many and so extensive works in regular employment, and even now I observed under a shed at the station of Ghent, two English locomotive engines from Newcastle, neither of which had yet been used, but which were laid aside as a reserve. The capital sunk in the Renard, is said to be 700,000 francs, and besides it, there are three minor houses of the same kind in Brussels.
Except some print works, bleach-greens, and others connected with the cotton trade, Brussels cannot be said to have any manufactures of importance. The carpets which bear its name, are all woven at Tournai, but the competition of England, has seriously interfered with them in the production of the ordinary articles, the importation of which into Belgium has increased since 1830, from the value of twenty thousand francs, to one hundred and thirty thousand annually. But in those articles which are more peculiarly incidental to a capital, carriages, musical instruments, jewellery, and furniture, the reputation of Brussels stands deservedly high. The carriages, especially, which one sees in Brussels, are remarkable for their elegance and substantial finish. The public conveyances also, the fiacres and vigilantes are superior to those of any city I know on the continent. It is remarkable, however, that in common with every other handicraft, the coach-makers of Belgium are complaining of depression, there were eighteen establishments of this kind in Brussels in 1838, of whom one half only were to be found in 1839.[3]