expiration of that period, Harry asked abruptly, "Why did young Tirrett strike you in that brutal manner, before he left the stable just now ?"

He spoke at a venture, but the arrow hit the bull's eye. Thrown completely off his guard, the man exclaimed, with an oath, "You know everything! who in the world are you?"

"My name's Coverdale," was the reply. "I'm no wizard, but I've been on the turf long enough to keep my eyes and ears open; and now listen to me; you know all I've said is true, you perceive that I could expose you if I were so inclined; you have no cause to entertain any very strong affection for Mr. Philip Tirrett, therefore I see many reasons why you should do as I wish you, none why you should not!"

He paused for a reply, and, after a moment's hesitation, the groom began, "I see it ain't o' no use trying to gammon you, Mr. Coverdale, you're right about Tirrett, he cum here a wantin me to lame that horse, and so git myself into trouble may be, when as I told him there ain't no need for it, for he ain't agoing to ride it, and barrin myself and him there ain't nobody else as can ride it to win, I'll take my davy o' that, so he'd no call to cut up rough, and knock a feller about like that but I owe him one for it, and I'll pay it some of these days. As to that hay and corn business of the Count's, I didn't do the correct thing altogether by him, I know, but though I had to cut, and it was all laid on to me, there was others more to blame nor me, I do assure you, I was but a boy like at the time, and I wor led on, don't ye see? Still, it's true enough; I don't want the thing

brought up again. My lord here--he's a nice young feller (precious green tho'! I never did) he added parenthetically, with a sympathy-demanding wink at Coverdale, and he's treated me very kind and liberal, and so the long and the short of it is, if I can oblige you, sir, why I'm agreeable."

وو

Well, you can oblige me, and it shall be worth your while to do so,' was the reply; "and as I see you've got an honest side to your nature, I'll be frank with you. Lord Alfred has trusted Tirrett to win this race for him, and has betted very largely on the faith of his riding for him; Tirrett, being a scoundrel, has thrown him over, and we're in a fix -the only way I see of getting out of it is to ride myself."

Here the groom interrupted, by audibly ejaculating, "The Lord have mercy on your poor neck!"

"To ride myself," continued Coverdale, coolly; "and I want you to tell me honestly, first, whether if the horse is properly ridden, he has a fair chance to win, and secondly, if you were going to ride, and try all you knew to come in first, how you would set about it!"

For a minute, the man remained mute with surprise, then muttering, "Well, I've seen you ride, and you've a better seat, and nearly as good a bridle hand as Phil Tirrett himself; but, Lor, to think of riding a steeple chase on that beast the first time you're on his back! however, if you will do it, listen to me," and, drawing Harry aside, he whispered innumerable hints and directions in his ear, in as low a tone as if he feared the very winds of Heaven would reveal the matter.

(To be continued.)

Of

BRUSSELS has many points of interest and attraction-historical, political, artistic. It a city in which have been enacted, in ancient times and modern, scenes fraught with importance to the destinies of Europe. Of old it was a renowned seat of wealth, commerce, and mediæval splendor, combined with industry. Within the present century it formed the head-quarters of the great Duke of Wellington pending the memorable event, the deliberate intent and temporary consequences of which have been so strikingly neutralized and reversed.

But there are other circumstances, connected with the history of this city, which impart to it a still higher degree of interest in the mind of the reflective meditator on the intricate variations of mundane affairs. It has truly been observed that whilst it was almost the very theatre of the battle of Waterloo, which was intended to efface from the map of Europe all important traces of the effects of the first French revolution, it was destined, a few years subsequently, to become, in its position of capital of an independent. kingdom, a prominent proof of the futility of

that project. The kingdom of Belgium was, in effect, one of the first fruits of the second French revolution, and the King of the Belgians, once the consort of the princess whom all human probability pointed to as heiress to the throne of England, became husband of another princess, eldest daughter of a monarch also the chosen of a French revolution, and who, until seven years ago, was regarded as the founder of a permanent and vigorous dynasty. How completely the latter expectation has been falsified by actual events, it is unnecessary to observe. It belongs to the long list of disappointed calculations with which the fact of the existence of a King of the Belgians is connected. King Leopold was called to the throne out of the English retirement now occupied by the exiled family of the eminently unfortunate monarch whose daughter he espoused, and whose accession to the crown of France was the immediate and moving cause of Leopold's advancement to the position which-more successful than his father-in-law-he has since continued to occupy.

During the oppressive and afflicting domination of the Dutch, Brussels had greatly declined from its former beauty and importance. There is little reason to doubt that this was as much the effect of design as the simple consequence of political subjection. The same policy which had formerly dictated the destruction of the harbor of Antwerp, could cherish jealousy of the greatness of a city which the perpetrators of that policy felt to be no natural vassal of Holland. It was a policy as mistaken as it was selfish. The subordinate and declining condition of Brussels was to the Belgians a constant and irritating memorandum of their prostrate condition. The adoption of a more generous course might have rendered them less impatient of the yoke. Possessed of all the natural elements and materials of industrial prosperity, Belgium, in equal union and conjunction with Holland, might have formed a great and happy kingdom. The fine soil of the former, teeming with fertility, and containing within its bosom abundant stores of coal and ironthe " ships, colonies, and commerce" of the latter, whose inhabitants may be said to have lived upon the wave constituted a promising combination. Holland, apart from Belgium, is little more than a curious network of bridges, dykes, and banks, artificially snatched from the sea by wonderful efforts of skill and industry. Of the two divisions which composed the kingdom of the Netherlands, Bel

gium was by nature the most important, and the most gifted. The benefit of participation in these gifts was thrown away by Holland, with a recklessness as great as that which led to the separation of Spain from all the possessions which formed the source of her grandeur and riches, commencing with the Low Countries themselves. It is a remarkable feature in the history of the Dutch, that, having worked out their own freedom by a noble effort of persevering courage, and earned for themselves the name of champions of the rights of man, they have almost from the very first, in their dealings with others, ingloriously signalized themselves by conduct the reverse of that which they laid down as their political code during their own struggle for independence.

For a quarter of a century, under the sway of a sovereign who has certainly exhibited no mean capacity for governing, Belgium has been advancing in prosperity with little interruption, and is now one of the principal continental seats of manufacturing, mining, and agricultural industry. The capital, Brussels, which is also one of the European centres of literature, fashion, and science, has been gradually, but rapidly, exchanging its somewhat sombre and decaying aspect for one of conspicuous gaiety. At certain seasons of the year, it is much frequented by visitors-pleasure-hunters, philosophers, health-seekers, connoisseurs, from every part of the civilized world; and the Palace, Park, and Boulevards, represented in our engravings, are scarcely to be exceeded, in cheerful "fullness," even by the Champs Elysées, or the gardens of the Tuileries. It will not be forgotten by the English reader, that the chief inhabitant of the palace is a personage, who, but for an event which occurred at the close of the year 1817, might long since have been holding, in England, the same position, as regards mere rank and title, as that now occupied by His Royal Highness Prince Albert. He might, in short, have been the consort of the queenly mother of a royal race of English children. That his Majesty would have filled that position respectably, no one who knows him, from having observed his public and private conduct, can reasonably doubt; but that he ever could have earned that overflowing measure of affectionate esteem which is the happy possession of the husband of Queen Victoria, is a supposition wholly outside the limits of pro

*The death of the Princess Charlotte, only daughter of George the Fourth.

bability. It is, in short, as unlikely that he would have risen to the full position of Prince Albert, as that he would have descended to that of Prince George of Denmark, the ridiculous husband of Queen Anne. King Leopold is endowed with several qualities of a safe, quiet, useful kind, amongst which a profound appreciation of the value of hard cash is not the least conspicuous. He has proved himself, in many respects, a sensible, practical, well-meaning man; but to have soared to the idea of the Crystal Palace would, to one of his character, have been as impossible as it would have been for Poet Laureate Pye to have written a first-class tragedy of Shakspeare's. His genius, so far as it has manifested itself, is generally of the mediocre order, with, certainly, no particular complexion of liberality, in the sense in which that term is supposed to signify generosity.

Nevertheless, it is undeniable that he has exhibited respectable governing talent. It was no small title to praise that, situated as his little territory is on the most dangerous point of contact with that of France, and almost identified as are the two peoples in language and literature, he should have contrived to carry them through the convulsive period of 1848 with scarcely the momentary appearance of peril to law and order.

There

is no single point in Europe more liable than Belgium to be imbued with the opinions and principles which, from time to time, obtain supremacy in France. Italy, Hungary, Germany, are in most points of view far more remote from liability to such influences; and the affair of 1830 had shown the natural susceptibility of the Belgians in the matter of French example. Yet, whilst Italy, Germany, and Hungary were convulsed, and great kings and emperors tottered on their thrones, it was the fortune of Leopold to maintain his rule unbroken and ungrudged.

All this gives indication of talent, and at the same time of honesty. Talent, doubtless, was required to manage the passions of the people at a period which was one prolonged and tremendous crisis. But if honesty had not accompanied talent, and approved itself in good faith and truthful treatment, appealing to the best impulses of a nation, the probability is that the King of the Belgians would have had but little respite before following his father-in-law into an English exile.

Among the elegant manufactures of Brussels, may be mentioned her carpets and her lace. These have obtained a world-wide renown, though it must not be supposed that one

twentieth part of the lace or carpets sold under that denomination, have ever been produced in Brussels, or are intended to be sold for such. The system of widely spread nomenclatures for single articles of dress, may have originated in fraud, and it may still be frequently put to fraudulent uses by persons engaged habitually in the least reputable devices of money-making; but for general purposes of commerce, the terms Brussels lace and Brussels carpets are as well understood as those of Turkey carpets Bath post, and China ware, and are taken by common consent to refer to a species, and not to a locality. This observation is made en parenthese, in reference to some observations which have recently appeared, contending that these trade terms are necessarily indications of fraudulent intent; a condition which no more follows necessarily than that the lady-donor of a "Cochin fowl,' which has never seen the ocean, should seriously contemplate a fraud upon the credulity

of her friend.

But there is another and special manufacture for which Brussels was long celebrated, a class of manufacture which, peradventure, is more creditable to the industry than to the honesty or ingenuity of those engaged in itrequiring, as it does, nothing more than perseverance in the pursuit of aggrandisement at the expense of our neighbors. We mean the piratical reprinting of original works, for the copyrights of which the Paris editors had probably paid large sums to authors. The piratical printing trade of Brussels in French books, much resembled that of New York in English books; the difference being, that whilst the New York pirates printed chiefly for native consumption, the Brussels pirates were engaged, for the most part, in re-exportation, open or surreptitious, according to the state of the law existing in the various countries of Europe and America. The cheap reprints of Brussels are almost as well known as those of New York-gross inaccuracy, vileness of print and paper, and glaring inferiority on all points, being the characteristics of the spurious productions.

As has been intimated, the visitor will find numerous features of attraction in Brussels, which it is not convenient or necessary to catalogue in this short notice. His curiosity will be peculiarly gratified if he carry with him the tastes which are encouraged by intelligence and refinement. Those who long ago sojourned there, cannot fail to perceive, on a renewed visit, numerous monuments of the improvements, architectural and

otherwise, which, in the present century, usually possess the valuable quality of regarding utility as the contrary of secondary to mere show and effect. In fine, it may be particularized, that should any possess the for

tune and influence of an introduction to the palace, their reception will be all the more cordial that they are Britons, subjects of an illustrious Princess, to whom (not least of his claims on our regards) King Leopold is uncle.

THE Rio Ullum is a small river in the Bay of Honduras, about twenty miles east of the port of Amoor. It is navigable only by boats, and is used principally to float mahogany down to the fleet of ships, which during many months in the year are assembled at its mouth. Its course is rather rapid, and its banks extremely picturesque. There is a heavy surf at its bar, which at times boats cannot pass without danger.

In the month of June, 1838, I was on board the barque Calcutta, at anchor off the Ullum. I was going to a small village some twelve miles up the river, for the purpose of consulting our stevedore, one Peter Byrnes; -who was up the river selecting a large raft of mahogany. The sea breeze had set in pretty strongly, and the afternoon was fresh and cool; don't misunderstand me; it was only cool by comparison; the sea breeze had only modified the sultry atmosphere of the morning; the thermometer stood at 82 in the shade.

a

We don't put on dress coats and black pants when we go visiting in such climate, and although we expected to meet the captain of the gang-a gentleman of no small importance among mahogany cutterswe only encased ourselves in a suit of duck, and, taking our pea coats to protect us from the chill of the evening, we stepped into our little four-oared cutter and started on our journey. I was accompanied by my friend Tom Carey. My little boat was pulled by four stout young fellows, with a steady-going old card as coxswain; she was the admiration of the whole fleet, and was, without doubt, a regular clipper. As we neared the bar, I could see the surf breaking on it in a remarkably unpleasant fashion. I had heard of the dangerous nature of the entrance, but had not paid much heed to it; I thought, perhaps, it was only a tale to frighten old women and youngsters; but when I saw the immense rollers tumbling in one after the other, I looked at them with something like dismay; however, with such a boat as we

"Can't see anything, sir; can you?”

"No," I replied; "yet I can't see anything astern; it must be ahead;-give way, my men perhaps it's a boat capsized in the surf."

"Ay, ay, sir," broke in the coxswain, "you're right! see there, in the way of them two cocoa-nut trees; watch the next roller, and you'll see the poor fellers holding on to the boat."

I did see them, and knowing that the coast swarmed with sharks, I saw that their only chance of safety-in case they escaped drowning and got clear of the surf-depended on our being there to rescue them as soon as they got into smooth water, and before the sharks caught sight of them. I therefore urged my men to put out their strength; they nobly responded to my call, and we soon began to fly over the sea.

A most exciting thing is a race like this; time against life or death! and, as we bounded along, a multitude of thoughts flitted through my brain; it is perfectly astounding at what a rate the mind will travel under such circumstances. Our little boat seemed to know she was on an errand of mercy, for I never saw her skim so lightly over the water. Oh! she was a paragon of a boat-was that same gig of the Calcutta. Stout arms and brave hearts impelled her with a velocity I had never before witnessed, yet we were still some distance from them when we saw the boat come out bottom upwards, and two of the men clinging to her.

One, two, three; that makes five, sir,” said the coxswain, as three more cleared the surf and struck out for us.

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"One, two, three, four; I can only see four," said Carey; one poor fellow's gone. "What's that?" "A shark! God help 'um!"

The water foamed from our bows; Carey and I held our breath and clutched the thwarts of the boat; still we flew onward. "Another shark!" said Carey; "d'ye see him coming down to windward ?"

"One, two, three; only three; another poor fellow gone! e!" "Give way, my bonnies! -Hurrah!—all together!--that's your sort." We were now close to them; the two men clung to the boat; one man still remained in the water; he flagged, he lifted up his hands imploringly, and his faint cry for help was drowned in the surging of the waves.

"Way enough-in bows-back water!" said the coxswain.

Carey had divested himself of his jacket and shoes and plunged in after him; he dived; he rose; he supported the drowning man, three strokes and we were alongside of them, we hauled them in board-just then a huge shark dashed past us. Thank God, you're safe!" said I, squeezing my friend's hand.

The two men who were taken off the boat had sustained no other damage than a good ducking; we learned from them that the first man who went down was the captain, and as he was striking out strongly, only a few seconds before he sunk, in all probability both he and the other man were seized by sharks, for neither of them ever rose again.

It was a melancholy termination to our first attempt to go up the Ullum, and I felt the matter painfully at the time, as I understood both men had wives, and the captain a family to lament their loss. Of course, after such an occurrence, it was out of the question to attempt the passage of the bar, and we therefore made the best of our way back to the ship. I cannot avoid relating an incident connected with this sad affair which is strongly characteristic of the superstition of sailors. The boat in which this melancholy accident occurred was strong and well built,

worth at least twenty pounds; yet after we had taken the men off, there was not a man in the fleet would touch her, and she drifted away to I must say she had a bad character, as she had capsized at the same place on a former voyage and a man had been drowned.

sea;

When we got on board, the appearance of the sky threatened one of those thunder-storms which at this season are common in these latitudes; we, therefore, made all snug for the night. A storm in the tropics is very grand, almost verging on the sublime; particularly in the neighborhood of high mountains. The lurid lightning plays among their tops; the thunder rumbling and then bursting with a terrific crash against their sides, seems hurled back again with double violence; rain falling in torrents-in sheets-a black pall hangs over everything, which is ever and anon rent asunder by forked lightning. All this is very beautiful to contemplate, under cover, with a pipe and a strong tumbler of " grog. To have been caught up the Ullum without shelter would not have been pleasant; but here, snugly ensconced in the cabin of a good ship, I was fascinated; I sat up till the storm abated, smoked two or three pipes, and then retired to my cot to be lulled to sleep by the distant thunder.

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The morning broke with a cloudless sky; the air was pure and refreshing; we took a hasty breakfast and jumped into our boat. The surf on the bar had subsided, and we entered the river without any trouble. I had heard that the scenery was picturesque, but was not prepared for anything so enchanting, and I could not help remarking to Carey how very inadequate language would be to convey a notion of the variety and beauty of the scenery. For some distance the margin of the stream was fringed with trees and shrubs; in the middle was a small island; this, too, was covered with tall cocoa-nut trees and bushes; and from which issued a cloud of parrots, macaws, and other birds of the most gorgeous plumage, that flew round and round uttering the most discordant sounds: monkeys, too, chased each other from branch to branch, chattering and looking wondrous. wise, and when I pointed my gun at them it was evident they understood the nature of that weapon, as they all scuttled away like mad, except one old fellow who knowingly dodged behind a large leaf, and no doubt thought himself perfectly safe. The island extended for some distance, and the trees overhung, and formed a leafy canopy, a gentle breeze came laden with the fragrance of