Morning journal and courier., 1886-09-04
culers and shops, generally open, constitute rortions of fha god n,iokI1ro

culers and shops, generally open, constitute portions of the sad picture.
 The harvests throughout Europe are good Corn is cultivated on limited scale if at all From the car windows, as I rode thousands of miles, wheat, oats, barley and other crops were maturing or being reaped in enormous quantities, but not hill of corn was visible during two months of travel. The damp, cloudy weather which prevails much of the time in Great Britain, with the cheapness of American corn, which literally floods the markets, were assigned as reasons by gentle men of intelligence with whom conversed Very little waste land exists. Swamps are drained and converted into fruitful fields The hill tops, denuded of primitive forests, are successfully cultivated even to the very summits. Women toll in the fields by the side Of men in great numbers, or with bare feet in some localities, and wooden shoes or clogs elsewhere, convey heavy burdens on their heads to market.
 The Sabbath in Brussells presented all the obnoxious features exhibited in Paris, con- bined with an annual fair which was in pro- press. Dense masses of human beings surged through the streets during the day and evening-twenty thousand would not be an extravagant estimate. King Leopold H. is deservedly popular with the people. Fol lowing in the footsteps of his father, Leo pold l., his administration is generally char acterized by tact and good judgment. Like many monarchs, he has several palaces that at Brussels being the principal one. While the language of Belgium is French, it differs essentially from that spoken in Paris, as the unhappy and bewildered tourist soon discov- CTS.
 In Belgium and France the mode of dis patching railway trains is novel and often amusing. When the hour arrives man at the station Justify rings good sized dinner bell, the switchman follows and gives loud I,I IaHHf frnvp hNzF, zeoI- l. constantly, to show that the switches are all right; the guard blows a pocket whistle, which is answered by vicious and shrill snort of the engine whistle and the train de- parts.
 As the cars in Europe are generally divi- ded into five compartments, with as many doors opening from the sides, the mode of collecting tickets is also peculiar. On some railways the tickets are taken at the gate as one leaves the station, passengers riding fifty miles or more without showing their tickets Elsewhere the train stops at the last station but one while the tickets are taken at the car doors. In France the collector walks on the narrow step on the outside of the cars, with the train at full speed, grasping hand rail or the open window in the door, and performs the work. As all doors open out wardly, he must be sure that they are well fastened, or fatal results will follow. The utter absence from European cars of the toi- let room, so common on all American trains is noticeable-a species of barbarian in fact After riding one or two hundred miles the traveller may enter such rooms at the stations, where men in uniform exact from two to four cents for the privilege. Drinking water is never found on the trains, except the sup ply carried for the engine. The sufferings of the miserable tourist who has forgotten to bring private bottle with him. especially in the intense heat of summer, will be fully n,NvN lad 4lo |o4so .k would need DIogenes with his lantern to dis cover water there, as may have said in my former letter. Two cents glass is asked for it at the refreshment room, without ice.
 At the battlefield of Waterloo sight-seers still gather from various and distant parts of the earth. I found the field covered with waving grain-some having fallen before the reaper's hand-as thousands perished miser- ably by shot, shell and bayonet thrust, June IS, 1915.
 Disdaining to ascend the vast conical mound by the long flight of stairs for per sonal amusement, I climbed up the green grassy slopes on the opposite side and inter- viewed the Belgian lion, who surmounts the elevation. The view was one of surpassing beauty. Garrulous guides point out the po- sitions occupied as headquarters by Yelling ton and Napoleon, the line of battle of each army, the road over which Butcher came, where Napoleon's Old Guard lay concealed in the cornfeld during the day. and where prominent officers met their fate.
 A horde of hungry peddlers and guides in- fest the spot. Maps, photographs, bou- quets, canes, refreshments and souvenirs are freely and consistently offered. To decline politely to purchase involves a renewal of the importantly. My steps were dogged for an hour or more from the moment the train ar rived. At last, while dripping with perspi- ration and driven to despair, 1 scattered the crowd with heroic dose of plain English The storm of approbrious epithets which were raine6 on my head would have proved ample to disperse the combined armies of Wellington and Napoleon.
 While endeavoring to decipher an inscrip- tion on & monument erected in memory of the dead of an English regiment stepped on a small round stone and my ankle turned. To save myself from falling I sprang quick ly forward on what seemed turf. It was a fallen tombstone oVergrown with grass. As it inclined considerably I slid the whole length of it and fell into ditch with my ankle badly wrenched. Though grooming with pain my comical condition caused me to smile. I was the only wounded man on the field of Waterloo. Not "dying in the last ditch," but suffering in the first one. My contest with the peddlers, short, sharp and decisive, described above, immediately followed this accident.
 The village of Waterloo is a struggling, plAc6. It uaS SlONA toward the battlefield, but entirely on one street. Houses, barns, stables and hog-pens are generally joined together, while an intol- erable odor is disseminated.
 After brief visit to the memorial church erected in memory of the officers and private soldiers of Great Britain who fell in the memorable contest, I returned to Brussels by railway, twelve miles distant.
 At the lace manufaetory of Brussels wit messed the intricate and delicate process of lace manufacture. Every description of lace produced was exhibited, which would have gladdened the heart of the ladies, but was not expert Beautiful and expensive the specimens certain ly were. One small collar was of fered for sale at s7.50. A sample, two inch es square, could be bought for $1. The bridal veil of the Queen of Belgium was made here, they said, on which four hun dred persons were employed for period of six months.
 The Military museum at Brussels was of interest Well preserved tapestry made in 1513 was shown. The horse ridden by the Prince of Orange at Quatre Bras and Water loo in 1915, stuffed, was among the curiosi- ties.
 The vast Cathedral of Brussels, begun in 1910, is still unfinished. It is object of much interest, however, and has many choice paintings and pieces of statuary by the old masters N IT.