BELGIUM.

Although this severance of the Netherlands was desirable to both sections, it was not accomplished without bloodshed. At its commencement, and during its progress, riots took place at Brussels, and other places in Belgium. Important subjects of dispute arose between the two kingdoms, as they were now constituted principally in relation to Luxemburg, a German duchy which strictly belonged to neither. Belgium claimed it as a contiguous territory; and William as being a personal grant to him by the Congress of Vienna, in satisfaction for some other German possessions taken from him by that body. Its population amounts to 300,000; its chief city, Luxemburg, is one of the strongest fortified places in Germany; and the possession of the duchy gives its owner a voice in the Germanic diet.

During the progress of the controversy the five great powers of Europe, France, Austria, Prussia, Great Britain and Russia, took upon themselves the office of arbitrators, to settle the terms of the separation by their ambassadors at London. No less than sixty protocols or propositions for settlement passed between the arbitrators. Leopold being the adopted son of Great Britain and France, was supposed to have a greater influence in the conferences than his antagonist. Luxemburg was finally awarded to the Belgians. A war between Holland and Belgium took place. The Dutch seized Antwerp; a French army marched to its relief, and William was compelled to acquiesce.

BELGIUM. The territory of Belgium contains eleven thousand square miles, and 4,150,000 inhabitants. Brussels, its capital, is a pleasant inland city, containing a population of 75,000. It is a favorite resort of the French and English. Ten miles to the southwest of the city is the village of Waterloo, on the borders of the forest of Soignies, famous for being the head quarters of Wellington, and giving name to the battle of the 18th of June, 1815, which was fought in its neighborhood, and decided the fate of Europe. On the evening of the 17th, Wellington was indulging himself with the belles of Brussels at a ball, when news arrived of the near approach of Napoleon, with a superior force, and called him from that scene of gaiety and pleasure, to one of hard fighting and victory.

The principal commercial city is Antwerp, on the Scheldt, accessible to vessels of the largest size, and the depot for much of the interior. A thousand ships enter its ports annually. It has a population of 80,000. Its cathedral is the most distinguished public edifice. The steeple, built of stone, exceeds 400 feet in height.

Belgium, or as it was formerly more usually called, Flanders seems to have been the common battle ground of Europe. It has been the principal seat of more wars, and the theatre of more battles, than any other country of equal extent in the world. Most of them were wars in which the people of Flan

HOLLAND.

ders had no immediate interest; and served them only to desolate and destroy their country.

HOLLAND. Holland, or the seven United Provinces, as they were formerly called, retained their king, the common name of the Netherlands, and their constitution, after the separation; and with the additions which were finally acceded to, by the protocols of the arbitrating powers, their population amounts to nearly 3,000,000. A singular feature in the face of this country is, that a considerable portion of it is below the level of the adjacent seas, and is protected from inundation by dikes built at great expense. The dikes are sometimes broken through, and the surrounding country flooded. Holland is intersected in every

direction by canals, on which passengers and goods are transported in boats, drawn by horses, at the rate of from three to five miles an hour.

Amsterdam, the commercial capital of Holland, is built on piles, and on land recovered from the sea. It contains a popufation of 200,000, and was formerly one of the richest cities in Europe. The events of the French revolution nearly ruined its commerce, and it has not yet recovered its ancient prosperity. A new canal, extending from its harbor to the extremnity of North Holland, a distance of fifty miles, promises great advantage to the commerce of the city. The canal is designed for sloop navigation.

The political capital of Holland is the Hague, a pleasant city, thirty miles southerly from Amsterdam, and three from the sea. It has a population of 44,000. It derives its principal consequence from being the residence of the court, and foreign ambassadors, and often the seat of important negotiations.

RIVER SCHELDT. The river Scheldt rises in France, passes through both divisions of the Netherlands, and enters the sea at Flushing. It is navigable for sea vessels to Antwerp. Passing in a short distance, in part through the territories of three powers, its navigation has ever been the subject of deep interest, and sometimes of war, between the upper and lower proprietors on its waters. When the navigation is shut or prohibited, Amsterdam supplies Belgium and much of the interior of Germany with foreign merchandize; when it is open, Antwerp has the same trade. The Dutch succeeded in stopping its navigation for nearly two hundred years before the French revolution. It was then opened, and was decreed to be kept open by the Congress of Vienna.

CHARACTER OF THE DUTCH. The condition of the soil and climate of Holland, seems to have much influence on the character and manners of its inhabitants. The humidity of the climate renders them phlegmatic and slow. The Dutch are not dissolute; this has been imputed rather to the coldness of their disposition and their parsimonious turn, than to any principle of superior virtue. There is much less depravity and crime among the lower classes in Holland, than in any other country in Europe. To go abroad a little, smoke much, eat and drink often, and of the best, form the principal enjoyments of the rich Hollanders. They do not appriciate, like the French. the pleasures of social intercourse, but relish in a higher degree the quiet of domestic life. The only intercourse which does take place in society, usually concerns business or profession.

CHAPTER VI.

Denmark. Ils component parts. Military and marine force. Sound duties. Their origin and present amount. Copenhagen. Danish fleet taken by the English. Education and schools. Frederick VI. Christian VIII. Scandinavia. Sweden. Constitution. Election of Bernadotte. Religion. Norway. Its constitution. Storthing, or general assembly. Religion. Lapland. Extent. Physical character. Means of subsistence, and character of the inhabitants. Reindeer. Russia. Its extent. Population. Ármy and nary. Military colonies. Government. Meeting of a convention to form a constitution. Grades of inhabitants. Cossacks. Peter I. Catharine II. Alexander. Nicholas. Religion of Russia. Greek church. Education. Chief cities. Petersburg. Moscow. Ils conflagration. Rebuilding. Archangel. Odessa. Astracan. Tobolski.

DENMARK. The kingdom of Denmark consists of the islands of Zealand and Funen, at the entrance of the Baltic, of the peninsula of Jutland, and the duchy of Sleswick. The duchies of Holstein and Luneburg in Germany, also belong to it, constituting it a member of the Germanic confederacy. Denmark proper, exclusive of these duchies, contains only 17.000 square miles, and 1,600,000 inhabitants. Its other possessions are Iceland, and Faroe isles, Greenland, some places on the coast of Guinea, Tranquebar and Serampore, in the East Indies, and St Thomas, St. Johns, and St. Croix, in the West Indies. The whole population of the kingdom and its colonies, amounts to 2,250,000.

GOVERNMENT. Previous to the year 1660, the kingdom of Denmark, like that of Sweden and Norway, was a limited and elective monarchy. In 1660, a revolution commenced which terminated in 1666, by a solemn act of the States, renouncing their rights, and declaring the king to be vested with absolute power, and Denmark thereafter became one of the most despotic kingdoms in Europe. Norway remained a constituent part of the Danish kingdom until 1814, when it was ceded to Sweden, contrary to the wishes of its inhabitants. The navy of Denmark consists of four ships of the line, seven frigates, and eighteen small vessels, and its standing military force of 8,000 men. Its religion is Lutheran, according to the Augsburg confession, but all sects are tolerated, and admitted to hold office without distinction.

SOUND DUTIES. At Elsinore, on the eastern coast of the island of Zealand, Denmark collects the sound duties from all vessels entering the Baltic. The average number of ships of all nations, paying these duties annually, is 10.000. The toll paid by English, Dutch, French, and Swedish ships, is one per cent. on the estimated value of their cargoes; and on those of other nations, one and a quarter. The amount is little short of a million of dollars annually. The entrance to the Baltic at this place, is four miles in width, and is defended by a strong fortress called Cronberg castle. The ship channel passes near the fort, where vessels are brought to and pay the required duties. The commencement of this impost is not ascertained by any authentic historical records. In the 15th century it is spoken of as an ancient custom. It probably had its origin in the purpose of maintaining light-houses for the benefit of navigation through the narrows, and when first established might not have been more than sufficient for that object. In later periods it is a principal source of revenue to the crown, and voluntarily submitted to by other nations.

COPENHAGEN. Copenhagen, the capital of the kingdom, also stands on this island, at the bottom of a large bay, forming its harbor, and contains a population of 100,000. In 1807, a considerable portion of the city was destroyed by an English fleet under Lord Nelson. In the war of that period between England and France, Denmark had anxiously sought to preserve a neutrality. She then possessed a valuable fleet, which was lying in the harbor of Copenhagen; a French army appeared in the neighborhood, requiring Denmark to adopt Bonaparte's continental system, as he called it, that of excluding British productions from the continent. Great Britain, apprehensive that Copenhagen would be occupied by the French, and the Danish fleet fall into their hands, required that it should be removed to an English harbor for safety. Denmark refused, and an English fleet, of twenty-three ships of the line entered the harbor, and bombarded Copenhagen for three days. Four hundred houses were laid in ruins; 1300 inhabitants perished. No effectual resistance was attempted, and the city surrendered on the 7th of September. The Danish fleet, then consisting of eighteen ships of the line, and fifteen frigates, were conducted into an English port.

EDUCATION. Education is more cultivated in Denmark than in almost any other absolute government. The king and his enlightened and able minister, Bernstorffe, are its patrons. They seem to have reversed the principle, that an absolute government relies for its safety on the ignorance of the people. It is rare to find a subject of Denmark who cannot read. In 1822. the system of mutual instruction, on the Lancasterian plan, was introduced under the patronage of the government; in the