A Flemish Family.

Brussels, the capital of Belgium, is often called a miniature Paris. In fact, a traveler suddenly transported thither would hardly know that he was not in some retired section of the French metropolis. The same language is spoken in Brussels as in Paris; similar street signs greet us everywhere; the creamy color of the buildings is analogous to that which makes the city of the Seine so light and cheerful in appearance; the style of architecture, also, in both cities is nearly identical; and even the shops, cafes, and covered passageways in Brussels are thoroughly Parisian in appearance. Friends who have lived in this bright city of the Belgians assure me that it is far superior, as a place of residence, to many larger Continental capitals; and it is therefore singular that Englishmen and Americans who wish to spend considerable time abroad, in order to perfect themselves in the French language, almost invariably go to Paris, where the large English-speaking colony and the incessant whirl of gaiety make serious study well-nigh impossible.

The Galekie St. Hubert, Brussels.

The central situation of Brussels, also, renders it very advantageous as a place of sojourn. London, Paris, Berlin, and Berne are about equally distant from the Belgian metropolis, which may in consequence be likened to the hub of a wheel, upon the outer rim of which some of the principal European cities are located.

Many travelers consider Brussels the third handsomest capital in Europe, ranking it after Paris and Vienna. Certain it is, that with its miles of superb boulevards, shaded by noble trees and flanked by magnificent modern residences; its splendidly constructed pavements, washed and swept every night with characteristic Flemish cleanliness; its Palace of Justice, Conservatory of Music, Museum of the Fine Arts, and palatial Bourse, in addition to its venerable Cathedral of St. Gudule, the Hotel de Ville, and other noble edifices of the past, it has few rivals among the leading cities of the world.

The most interesting square in the Belgian capital is the Place de 1'Hotel de Ville. Its history is almost identical with that of Brussels; for hardly one remarkable event in the annals of the city has lacked this area for its scene of action. What memories, therefore, cluster round the venerable buildings which front upon it.

The Eden, Brussels.

On one side stands that beautiful specimen of Gothic architecture, known as the Hotel de Ville, which still appears almost as stately and imposing as when its richly decorated walls sent back in noisy echoes the revelry of brilliant tournaments, or cast its shadow like a pall upon some cruel execution in the square below. This noble edifice suffered severely during the bombardment of the city by Louis XIV., in 1695, but the injured portions have been carefully restored after the original designs, and the result is one of the finest mediaeval structures on the Continent. The most interesting apartment in this historic City Hall is the large banquet-room, which is adorned with fine oak carvings, and has a ceiling remarkable for the splendor of its ornamentation. It was here, in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, that the rich Flemish burghers and the powerful Guilds of Brussels used to entertain, with proverbial hospitality, the kings, dukes, princes, and ambassadors who came to them from other lands. Nor is Belgian hospitality a thing of the past. In 1890 when Henry M. Stanley was a guest of the King of Belgium, immediately after the explorer's return from his last trip through Africa, the Mayor and Aldermen of Brussels gave a grand dinner in his honor in this ancient banquet-room. It was a most interesting scene; for there were gathered here, to meet the famous traveler, the ministers of England, France, the United States, and other great Powers, together with representatives of the highest Belgian nobility, and the leading men in the professional and literary life of the kingdom. Meantime, looking down on these distinguished guests were the stern, impressive faces of William the Silent, Maurice of Orange, Grotius, Egmont, Hoorn, and other Dutch and Flemish heroes, whose noble portraits in Gobelin tapestry adorn the sombre walls.