In the neighbourhood of the Phœnix, we passed the great basin of the Sas de Gand Canal, which by connecting Ghent with Terneuse at the mouth of the Scheldt, has effectually rendered it a sea-port in the heart of Belgium. This bold idea was originally conceived by Napoleon, but carried into effect, and the basin completed, by the King of Holland only two years before he was driven from the country by the revolution. As the embouchure of the canal, however, is situated in Zeeland, a province of the Dutch dominions, its navigation was effectually closed from 1830 to 1839, when the treaty was ratified, which finally determined the limits of the two States. During those nine years, the magnificent dock at Ghent, and the line of the canal itself, were stagnant, and the passage rapidly filling up with sand and silt, another of the many inconveniences entailed upon the merchants of Belgium by “the repeal of the union.” It is at last, however, opened to the trade, and when we saw it, contained a number of vessels, some discharging cotton, and one taking in cargo for the Havanna. During the few months that had elapsed from its opening in October, 1839, upwards of one hundred and twenty vessels had entered and departed by it from Ghent, for Holland, and the Hanse Towns, London, the Mediterranean, and the United States. On our return we drove to the _Beguinage_, a little enclosed district, appropriated as the residence of an ancient community of nuns, who take no vow, but on contributing to the general funds of the community, are admitted into the sisterhood, and devote their lives to works of charity and benevolence, especially to attendance on the sick and poor. They are each clad in the costume of the order. For a head-dress, they carry the _beguine_, a veil of white muslin, folded square, and laid flat upon the top of the head, whence they derive their name, with a black silk hood, termed a _faille_, said to have been anciently worn by the ladies of Flanders, and closely resembling, both in name and appearance, the _faldetta_ of the Maltese. This interesting society contains between seven and eight hundred members, and occupies not a detached building, as elsewhere, but a little retired section of the city, surrounded by a fosse, and enclosed by a wall, at the gate of which, one of the sisterhood acts as porter. The whole is divided into streets, consisting of rows of quaint looking little houses, of venerable brick-work, with Dutch gables and cut stone windows, each door inscribed with the name of a particular saint, Agatha, Catherine, or Theresa, instead of that of its occupant. In the centre is a spacious square, with an old Spanish looking church, rather richly ornamented, and containing a few curious paintings and carvings in oak. The order is of very high antiquity, dating some twelve hundred years ago, and the present establishment was founded in the thirteenth century.