FIG. 14--Sketch map of the environs of Brussels showing the forested patch of Soignes intervening between the Brussels area of French language (shown by dots) and the adjacent part of the area of the French language in Belgium (also shown by dots). The blank area is territory of Flemish speech. (Based on a map by P. Reclus in _La Géographie_, Vol. 28, 1913, p. 312.)] The rising ground east of the canal has always been favored as a residential site by the leaders of the community. In the Middle Ages the counts of Brabant erected their palace on the summit of this eminence. Since then the well-to-do residents of Brussels have built their homes on this side of the canal. The bourgeois class followed the lead of the aristocracy as soon as their commercial and industrial revenues equaled those of their titled countrymen. French, the language of culture in the land, naturally took root in this eastern section of Brussels. The tendency of the privileged classes to select this part of the city for their residence is as strong today as in the past. The bracing air of the heights and of the forest of Soignes near by affords an inducement which cannot be found in the bottom of the valley. Spacious avenues enlivened by elaborate residences extend along the crest lines. The intervening blocks are tenanted by the middle classes. Educational institutions also flourish in these eastern wards of Brussels. French prevails overwhelmingly in all their nooks and bypaths. The growth of French in Brussels is strongly brought out by a comparison of the following census figures for the years 1846 and 1910: _1846_ _1910_ French-speaking inhabitants 70,000 480,000 Flemish “ “ 130,000 280,000 ------- ------- Totals 200,000 760,000 The gradual replacement of Flemish by French in Brussels may often be traced to recent changes in the growth of the city.[17] In the faubourgs of Woluwe, Boitsfort and Uccle the number of users of French is on the increase each year. The growth proceeds with sufficient regularity to forecast a thorough spread of the language by 1935. In some cases it is easy to foresee that some of the outlying villages will be Frenchified sooner than certain wards of the western part of the city. Tervueren and Linkebeek, for instance, are both noted for the charm of their scenery. Both are centers of attraction for the well-to-do Belgians and as a result tend to lose their Flemish character.