The Sun.
London, England, 1845-07-10 00:00:00

LITERATVRE.
&LANCE of BELGICJI and the RHINE. By
Thomas Ramsay, Esq.
There is, perhaps, no part of the Continent about
which more has been written than that which is the sub-
' ject of the work before us : yet, in justice to the author,
we must completely acquit him of having put forth what
is either stale or superfluous. Mr. Ramsay's " Glance:2
has presented many new points of beauty and interest,
• which could scarcely be observed by the aid of any mere
guide-book. We shall best explain the distinctive features
of this work and guide-book by comparing thelatter to an
ordinary map—the former to a bird's eye view—the one
may be accurate and useful, but the other is, in addition,
striking and picturesque. The guide-book, with tabular
precision, fixes your route—tells you what, when, where,
and how you may see, and eat, or sleep, to the best
advantage; but our author gives you truthful
tableaux of himself and his party of friends at all the
ever-varying positions into which such a group can be
thrown ; and whether we have them in the " solemn
temples" of religion, the rich galleries of art at Antwerp,
the vagaries of the royal inauguration fete at Brussels,
"on an empire's dust" at Waterloo, among the musty
relics at Aix- la. Chapelle and Cologne, whirling by the
Belgian railroad, or treading the deck of the Rhine
steamer, climbing Ehrenbreitstein, or strolling on the
mar4in of the " blue Moselle," we must say that they
seem to have ben a most enviable set of happy fellows,
and our author the very pink of ciceroni, save and except,
perhaps, when he runs away from them in order to reach
the summit of Ehrenbreitstein, which he saw they would
not attempt under a broiling sun.
We certainly do not• approve of all the writer's senti-
ments, particularly as respects religion and church
matters. Mr. Ramsay does not conceal that he is a high
churchman and something more. Anglo-Catholicism is
the key-note upon which all the moral of his book seems
to turn, and he takes frequent occasion to bring in well-
timed remarks upon the forms of the Anglican, as con-
trasted with those of the Roman Church. He says of
his visit to Antwerp Cathedral on a week day :
" Early morn though it was, not only did we find the
doors of the cathedral open, but its aisles crowded with
worshippers. Two or three priests were officiating in
the chapels ; but it was far more solemn and impressive
to behold the groups of people, of all ranks and condi-
tions, yonr.g and old, rich and poor, one with another,'
all mingled together in acts of devotion. No pews, no
fixed seats of any kind encumbered the vast expanse of
aisle. Low chairs there were in countless piles, ready
to be brought out when required ; and there is a useful
contrivance upon them, by which they can conveniently
be appropriated either to kneeling or sitting, though the
former a-,is the use to which we saw them mainly de-
voted.

` The place is holy to the breath

Of awful harmonica, of whispered prayers.'
And with great propriety the accommodations are
strictly in accordance with it all. The people were
mostly on their knees, in silent prayer; and many a
deep drawn sigh we heard, the emission, we would fain
have persuaded ourselves, of a contrite heart. Some
were standing, others seated here and there, apparently
in serious meitation. All wore the appearance of deep
so!einniv, as though the sanctity of God's more imme-
diate pre-ence did indeed
' Brood with a voiceless influence on the air ;
Stern, yet serene ;—a reconciling spell,
Each troubled billow of the soul to quell.' "

So much for Roman-Catholicism at Antwerp. Of
Analo-Catholicism at Brussels, Mr. Ramsay says—
" There are two English Protestant, or, we would rather
say, Anglo-Catholic chapels, at Brussels ; one of them,
situated near the Palace, is attended by King Leopold
when lie is in his capital. There being a great many
English residents in Brussels, both these chapels, we
learned, were well filled on Sundays; but they are closed
all the week. or nearly so, whilst the Roman Catholic
churches are open day by day. And certainly, in this
resp et. the contrast is anything but favourable, either
in what is real or apparent, to the English Protestant
system. Our Protestartism, in fact, wherever it shows
itself en the Continent, is by this very contrast made all
the inure cold and repulsive. That there is religious
peace in Brussels, if not religious concord, we saw much
to assure us. The great bulk of the people are of what
is virtually the Established Church—that is, the Church
of 1 ()roe ; and every thing we saw convinced us that
they are dvotedly etta,:died to their church."
These extracts are sufficient to show the leaning of
the work. Its principles cannot be readily adopted by
the general rk ader ; but they are asserted with so much
sine, rity, consistency, and good taste, that even those who
hold opposite views cannot take offence. When Mr.
Ramsa) gets into Germany, he seizes the opportunity
of viewing the Anglican Church in another light—con-
trasted with Lutheranism, Calvinism, and Rationalism.
He m: kes the must of the recent exhibition of the
Holy Tunic at Troves, of the consequent secession of
John Rouge, a priest in Silesia, from the Romish com-
munion, and his exertions in forming a German Catholic
Church. But we cannot follow this portion of the book
further; nor would we wish, indeed, to convey the idea
that its pages are surcharged with such grave and weighty
matters; they form, as we have said, the key-note of
the work ; but many intermediate passages run into the
merriest allegro, while the general style is so unaffected
and easy, that the author is soon claimed by the reader
as an agreeable acquaintance, and carries him along with
him right heartily, whether the places traversed inspire
the meditative or the mirthful mood. Take, for instance,
his " Morning at Cotlentz," than which, he tells us, " a
lovelier never smiled upon the favoured Rhine, than
that which revelled o'er its majestic stream and banks"
upon that occasion.
" So, then, nielhought, when rising to resume the
march of life, here is rimming at Coblentz ! I do, in-
deed. breathe the air wafted from the wedded waters of
the Rhine and Moselle ! What magic has there ever
been to me in the names of these rivers ! The one
embodying all that is majestic and grand—the other all
that is g‘.r.t'e and lovely ! How, when my school ac-
quaintance with Casar de bello Galileo, told me of the
Roman legien on the banks of the Rhine, has the inspir-
ing hope arisen that I might one day behold the river
which rolled b fore the mighty conqueror of the world !
This was my first association of the Rhine. The Rhine
arid tfes.ir ever met in my mind. Later years have
ad led the after tints of legend, poetry, and romance.
German diablerie and English poesy have each added
chnums to tin, picture. The confluence of the Rhine
and the Moselle has long been a fairy spot in my imagina-
thin, and here am I about to realise the wish of years."
Here-, then, we conclude our notice of a book, which
we are sure will meet with many readers and admirers,
especially timing those who are about to "order their
wings" tor a flight to Belgium and the Rhine during
th;-; tempting weather. The traveller will find this
volume both interes'ing and useful.