e maps in my
possession, some of which were recent and sufficiently minute. I
observed some distrust in his manner, and in the end, he suggested that
an old French map of the Canadas, that he had in his pocket, might
possibly be more accurate than those which had just been received from
America. The map was produced, and, as might have been expected, was
utterly worthless; but an intimation to that effect was not well
received, as the artist had not been accustomed to consider the
Americans as map-makers. At length I was compelled to show him
Poughkeepsie laid down on his map directly opposite to Albany, and to
assure him gravely that I had myself travelled many a time in a north
and south direction, from sunrise to sunset, in order to go from one of
these places to the other, and that they were eighty miles asunder!

We left Brussels at noon, and reached Louvain at three. Though not taken
so completely by surprise as we were last year, the town-house still
gave us great pleasure. They were at work repairing it, and the fresh
stones gave it a mottled look, but, on the whole, it is one of the most
extraordinary edifices I know. It is a sort of condensation of
quaintness, that is quite without a rival even in this land of laboured
and curious architecture. The little pavilion of the Prince of Orange,
that lies on the road, was still deserted and respected. I dare say his
fishing-rods and fowling-pieces are intact, while his inheritance is
shorn of half its glory.

There was a quarantine before entering the Prussian states on account of
the cholera, and having understood that we should gain in time after
quitting Brussels, beyond which the malady has not yet extended, we went
no farther than Thirlemont, where we passed the night. The place is
insignificant, and the great square was chiefly occupied by "awkward
squads" of the new levies, who were drilling as fast as they could, in
readiness for the Dutch. The Belgians have reached Protocol No. 67, and
they begin to think it is most time now to have something more
substantial. They will find King William of the true "hard-kopping"
breed.

The next morning we posted down to Liege in time to take a late
breakfast. The road from Brussels to this place has run through a
fertile and well-cultivated country, but the scene changed like magic,
as soon as we got a glimpse of the valley of the Meuse. Liege has
beautiful environs, and the town is now the seat of industry. Coal-pits