him novel appearance, of the secular clergy form a feature not to be omitted. An Englishman is totally unused to having the Church and its accessories so constantly in his presence as he here finds it. Both eyes and ears remind him perpetually of one and the other. The _carillons_, and the irregular unmeaning jingle-jangle of the bells from the numerous churches, continuing more or less throughout the day--the monotonous nasal chant issuing from every church one passes (and they constantly recur)--the occasional rencontre of some procession, and the number of priests to be seen everywhere in black cassocks and bands, with very small three-cornered cocked-hats stuck formally on their well-powdered heads--never allow one to forget Holy Mother Church as a leading member of the commonwealth. These priests all look sleek and in good case--they are evidently well fed; and it is amusing to see some of them (very young men) gliding along with downcast eyes (_vultus dejectu_) and demure steps, whilst ever and anon a stealthy sidelong glance announces that their thoughts are not entirely abstracted in devotional meditation--that they are not insensible to the excitement of the busy scene around them. To these maybe added the dowdy, homely figures of the Beguines in their inelegant black dresses, as inelegant and truly _bizarre_ caps of snow-white linen floating like enormous wings on either side of their heads. The remainder of the population, as I have said, offered nothing very striking in the way of costume, at least as far as regarded the higher classes. People everywhere now have adopted, it may be said, a common uniform. All the male world wear round hats, tail or frock coats of sober colours, and trousers. The rich old _bourgmestres_, for instance, are precisely what one would figure to himself a _bourgmestre_ to be--fat, portly, aldermanly men, often in cocked-hats and powdered wigs, a sober or sad-coloured suit of good broad-cloth, amply cut, breeches ditto, silver knee-buckles, white or striped silk stockings, clumsy, square-toed, but well-polished, high-quartered shoes, with enormous silver buckles--quite antiques; the finish, a handsome cane with golden knob, sometimes ruffles, figured silk waistcoats, &c. &c. The peasantry frequenting the markets differed from our people of the same class in the prevalence of short striped cotton jackets, caps, and _sabots_. Many of them, like our rustics, wore smock-frocks, much ornamented about the back, breast, and shoulders by embroidery in coloured worsteds; these frocks, however, are generally dark-blue. The street groups of the middle and lower classes were principally characterised by the frequency of short jackets, generally nankin or striped cotton, breeches of velveteen, with silver knee-buckles and striped stockings; cloth, nankin, or a sort of grey linen, foraging-caps of all shapes--some trimmed with wool or fur, generally having long