Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1856-04-19

pOoccoos
The Rhineis rapid stream, from half azmile
to a mile wide, and is crossed in many places by
bridses of boats; which are made by anchorlng
numerous large fat bottomed boats in strait hne
across the stream. and upon them the timber ana
planks for the bridge are fastened. Rocky hills
and mountains destitute Of trees, skirt the banks
of the river; and every rod Of ground in sight,
capable of cultivation, up to the very tops OF the
mountains, is planted with grape vines. Large
towns and villages are in view nearly all the way,
and many of them have very picturesque ap-
pearance, from their numerous quaint looking old
houses and churches; some of which are more
than two thousand years old. Many of them are
in tolerably good preservation, and are still occu
pied.
The steam boat on which we came down the
river is ranked frst-rate, here, but in America
she would be put in to the fourth or fifth class;
being small, and announcement in every respect,
and black and dirty; and this, too, on great
route, where hundreds of passengers are trans
ported daily
Cologne is large city, of nearly one hundred
thousand inhabitants, but is not very pleasant
place. Most of its streets are narrow and very
filthy, and would require rivers of " Eau de Co.
logne" to make them sweet and clean.
THERE'S not much to particularly interest the
tourist in Cologne. The Cathedral, if ever COM
pleted. viii be building of enormous size, and
great architectural beauty. Il was commenced
about six hundred years since, and is not yetnear
finished. 1t covers nearly three acres of ground,
and will cost several million dollars, when fin
ished
Every traveller passing through Cologne, is
expected to amply supply himself with the gem
uine world-renowned perfumed water of Cologne,
and we didso. 1t is very extensively manufac.
tured here, there being more than twenty large
establishments where it is made; several of
whom bear the same name, and claim to be the
rightful heirs of the original inventor, who was
Jean Marie Fariua in 1879
| Part of the route from Cologne to Brussels, is
quite mountainous, particularly in the vicinity of
Liege, and the railway tunnels are so numerous,
that the cars are passing through them continu-
ally. We passed by great numbers Of large man
ufacturing establishments of cloth, iron, &C.,
&C., and their numerous tall chimneys were quite
forest-like in some places.
The land in this part of Belgium, the re-
gion Of Brussels, I think upon the whole is the
best have yet seen in Europe. The soil is rich
/ and productive, and appears to be cultivated in
the very best manner, and produces great crops
of wheat, rye, barley, hemp. &c. Great quanti-
ties of fruit and forest trees also raised here
| and the fields and roads are lined with them. The
labor in the fields is nearly all done by hand, and
| by both men and women, as is customary all over
Europe. The wages of the men are from thirty
to forty cents, and the women about twenty cents
per day; and this have found is about the COM
mon price in France, Switzerland, &c.
Brussels, the capital of Belgium, is large and
fine city, of near two hundred thousand inhabit-
ants, and vies with Paris in the grandeur of its
edifces, and in its general appearance. The
streets are clean, wide, and straight, and the
pifyts, handsome buildings, of light colored stone,
Brussels cheerful, pleasant look.
is extensively manufacture all over the world
cinity; and we visited large establishment
where it is made The work is mostly done BY
manu. by young women; and, the incest and 6n-
est lace can only be made by a verv slnvv procsss
requiring untirins patienca. lang a-,.a.:or..'
the closest attention., Some of the work "a "a
such microscopic hneness that Il Is exssedlnelv
trying to the eyes of the person making it; and
few are able long to endure the severe traE And
yet for all this, the pay of the poor girls is very
small, not exceeding twenty-five cents per day
One of them told us that the small collar, which
we had purchased for five dollars, took her four to
five days to work it. and she received but seventy
hve cents for it. And, while witnessing the te-
dious process of working the finest lace, we could
not but think that, if they were aware of the la
bor many ladies would use much less of it than
they now do. Some of the finest and most ex-
pensve lace, manufactured in Brussels, sells for
forty dollars per yardt and the fax of which it is
made, is worth from sirty to eighty dollars per
pound, such is its extreme fneness and delicacy,
combined with strength Of fibre.
We visited the Botanical Garden of Brussels.
and found It'll be beautiful place, of perhaps
one hundred acres, near the centre of the citv.
1t is handsomely laid out in walks and SQUARES,
with pretty ponds, fountains, &C., and contains
an extensive collection of trees, shrubs, and
plants all scientifically labelled, and kept in good
order,
In the Royal Museum, there is very large and
! good collection of birds and animals, all presery
| ed in the best manner, and we were much inter-
ested in examining them, as we also were in many
other articles of curiosity there. There are many
fine galleries OF paintings in Brussels, some of
which we hastily visited; and we regretted our
time was SO limited in them.
We were amusedto see how the dogs were
made 10 work in Brussels. Great numbers Of
| them were always to be seen in the streets, har
messed single, or in pairs, and dragging carts and
wagons, often with quite heavy loads They are
of large size, and appeared to be well trained
| and manageable as a cart-horse' S. nc.