CHAPTER VIII.

I have confessed a little farther back that the happiness of our sojourn in this lovely country was not without some alloy; and having done so, I may add one or two more items to this balance, _per contra_.

Soon after our arrival at Strytem, an officer of the commissariat was attached to the troop, for the purpose of feeding us and our animals. His first care was to secure a sufficient number of country waggons, with their drivers and horses, intending to keep them together ready for a move. The farmers, finding this a grievance, besieged me, personally and through Mynheer Evenpoel, to allow them to remain at home until wanted. This Mr Coates (who, by the way, was an experienced and excellent commissary) strongly opposed, foretelling the consequences but too truly; however, I yielded, upon a solemn promise of M. l’Adjoint that they should be held ready to move at a moment’s notice. Having committed this folly, I was well punished for it by the anxiety I experienced at every report of a move; and at last when the hour did come, they were called and found wanting, and poor Mr Coates had to mount and hunt them up, when they ought to have been loaded and on the road. This was a lesson to me.

Another misery I endured was the constant apprehension of falling under the Duke’s displeasure for systematic plundering of the farmers by our people, which I could not well check without risk of incurring the same on another score--_i.e._, for not doing it! This is enigmatical; let me explain. Our allowance of forage, though sufficient to keep our horses in pretty good condition when idle, was not sufficient when they were hard worked; nor was it sufficient at any time to put on them that load of flesh, and give them that rotundity of form which Peninsular practice had established as the _beau ideal_ of a horse entering on a campaign, the maxim being--“The more flesh a horse carries, the more he has to lose, and the longer he will be able to bear privation.” To keep up this, therefore, it was necessary to borrow from the farmers; and at this time of the year the superb crops of the _trèfle_ offered themselves most opportunely. The practice was general amongst cavalry and artillery, so that all the horses were equally in good case; and it would have been a most dangerous proceeding, by abstaining from it, to let your horses appear thinner than those of your neighbour. The quick eye of the Duke would have seen the difference, asked no questions, attended to no justification, but condemned the unfortunate victim of samples as unworthy of the command he held, and perhaps sent him from the army. We therefore, like others, plundered the farmers’ fields; with this difference, however, that we did it in a regular manner, and without waste--whereas many of the cavalry regiments destroyed nearly as much as they carried away, by trampling about the fields. The dread of this being reported kept me continually in hot water, for my farmers (who, under the reign of the Prussians, would never have dared utter a complaint), hearing how strictly plundering was forbidden by the Duke, soon became exceedingly troublesome with their threats of reporting me.[10] How we escaped it is difficult to say, but certainly we continued helping ourselves; and latterly St Cyr, and some other farmers, getting more docile, would themselves mark out where we were to cut. Our neighbour at the chateau farm (Walsdragen) was the most troublesome. The Duke was not partial to our corps, which made it still more fortunate for me that these people never put their threats in execution. It is difficult to say why, but his Grace certainly treated us harshly, and on many occasions unjustly. Of his harshness _voici un exemple_. Captain Whinyates having joined the army with the rocket-troop, the Duke, who looked upon rockets as nonsense, ordered that they should be put into store, and the troop supplied with guns instead. Colonel Sir G. Wood, instigated by Whinyates, called on the Duke to ask permission to leave him his rockets as well as guns. A refusal. Sir George, however, seeing the Duke was in a particular good-humour, ventured to say, “It will break poor Whinyate’s heart to lose his rockets.” “D--n his heart, sir; let my order be obeyed,” was the answer thundered in his ear by the Duke, as he turned on the worthy Sir George. Let me return to the country and its charms.

With me one of the most delightful occupations is the exploring a new country; so that, whilst others could not exist except in Brussels, I found abundant occupation for my leisure riding about the neighbourhood of Strytem. One of my first rides was, as in duty bound, to Ninove. Instead of taking the main road from Brussels thither, which runs through Meerbeke, I took a by one to Liederkerke, and, turning to the left a short distance from this place, crossed the gently-flowing Dender, opposite the little village of Okegem, by a rustic bridge supported on posts, so narrow and fragile that it was not without demur, and at last leading my horse, that I ventured over. I found the officers of the troop here very humbly lodged--in mere cottages, and that of a poor description. Nothing here comparable to our lordly tapestried saloons at Strytem--to the which, by the way, we were becoming attached, more particularly since the fine weather had set in, and taught us to appreciate their coolness and refreshing _demi-jour_.

The country, after passing the river, was not interesting, as I have mentioned elsewhere, but the scenery improved somewhat on drawing near Ninove, which place, with the immense monastery of white stone built on the higher part of the ground, had a somewhat imposing appearance: drawing still nearer, some fragments of old walls begin to make their appearance amongst the trees, which now became more numerous, and we enter the place under a dark-browed picturesque arch, flanked by two circular towers, partly in ruins and overgrown with ivy, the whole half concealed, until one turns short upon it, by the clustering foliage of some handsome elms and the thick shrubbery of bushes growing out of the old walls. As my horse’s feet resounded under the archway, a flash of romance came across me, and I thought of the counts of Burgundy and their romantic court, and pictured in my mind’s eye some lordly pageant streaming from out the archway in all its glittering array. Sober reality soon banished romance. A short street brought me from the gate to the head of the principal one--long, broad, clean; houses low, and of rather a humble description; on the whole, looking more like the street of an English country town than anything I had seen in the Pays Bas here; and standing across it was the monastery which had formed so conspicuous a feature in the aspect of the town from without. This, instead of representing the sort of ecclesiastical building one would expect a monastery to be, was a magnificent modern-built house of three storeys, pierced with numerous large sashed windows, looking airy and cheerful--anything rather than the house of sorrow, repentance, and abstinence. It is, I suspect, a modern restoration of the monastery of Premonstrantine monks mentioned by Blau, and the only one he does mention. It was suppressed in 1792. Wandering into the court, which was overrun with grass and weeds, I met the only remaining brother of the order, the dress of which he wore. His appearance was venerable, but whether it was that he was naturally morose, or because I was a heretic, he would answer none of my questions, only making a waive of the hand in answer to my inquiry whether I might walk over the premises. That this reserve did not arise from ignorance of French, his immediately turning and giving directions to a labourer in that language testified. Lord Uxbridge and his staff having taken up their abode here restricted my observations to the exterior of the building. I saw enough, however, to learn that the Premonstrantine monks had once been lodged like princes, and so passed on to look at the town.

Ninove is prettily situated on the left bank of the Dender, from which its spacious street ascends by a gentle acclivity; and at this time it presented a very gay and bustling appearance, from the presence of the cavalry staff and the active operations of the commissariat. It may contain about 3000 inhabitants, and was once surrounded by a wall, with flanking towers, of which some vestiges still remain. I believe much weaving is done here, and I saw several mills and tanneries. Blau says the ancient name was “Nienevem, Ninoviam, Ninovam, _vulgus_ Kandrorum; _nunc_ Ninovam--Gallo belgæ Ninof appellant; Belgia regalis,” &c. So much for Ninove. For that time I bid it adieu, and passing the bridge at the bottom of the street, took my road homewards through the pretty and interesting country to the southward of it. Old Blau says there was some joke against the people of Ninove connected with its ancient name Ninevem, which he compares with the Nineveh of Assyria. In my way home, passing through Meerbeke, I saw a handsome chateau, where Sir Ormsby Vandeleur had his divisional headquarters. It was a picturesque object, and truly Flemish in style, though in situation, &c., it resembled an English country-house--two storeys, with numerous large windows, and the usual double tier of dormitory windows in the high roof. It was flanked at either end by a round tower, with the characteristic conical roof. The grounds were quite English. A level lawn of smooth and verdant turf extended from the front to the road. Shrubberies of laburnums, &c., surrounded it on three sides, concealing the offices, and these were backed by a thick wood of lofty forest-trees. To judge from externals, an agreeable quarter.

The great Bois de Liederkerke afforded me a fine field for exploration, and many a delightful ride I took amongst its grateful shades. In one of these I discovered, in the very heart of it, a cleared spot of a few acres, part of which was occupied by the blackened ruins of some building, and part exhibited the very melancholy appearance of a once handsome garden, run wild and gone to decay--even the very ruins were nearly overrun by brushwood and weeds. A peasant, whom I met with after leaving the wood, told me that although he had never seen these ruins, he supposed they must be the remains of a convent of nuns which once existed somewhere in the wood, but had been burned many years ago. Ignorance of his language prevented my understanding a long story he told me--partly in Flemish, partly in French--but I picked out that the nuns of this convent had all been ladies of considerable, some of very high, rank.

The main road to Alost, by Liederkerke and Denderlue, runs through this wood, and, emerging from it on that side, one exchanges the gloomy obscurity of the forest and confined view amongst the trees for the broad light of day and a wide expanse of fine meadows, covered with herds of cattle, through which the Dender runs brawling and bubbling along over its pebbly bed, crossed at this point by a long wooden bridge, immediately beyond which is the village of Liederkerke, at the time of my visit full of our Household troops.

It was a curious sensation that of seeing Lifeguardsmen lounging about the street and before the houses--these people are so intimately associated in one’s mind with London, the Park, Horse Guards, &c. Nor was the contrast between their tall full figures and rosy complexions and the gaunt awkward figures and sallow complexions of the Flemish peasantry--the smart tight-fitting scarlet or blue jackets of the one, with the coarse homely garbs and dingy-coloured smock-frocks of the other--less curious.

Both banks of the river, which here approach each other and are rather steep, are well clothed with trees, and form a picturesque scene. Immediately above and below the bridge, these banks, retiring from each other, leave between their bases and the river a wide level of meadow-land, which, being everywhere bounded by low thickly-wooded hills, and, as before mentioned, thickly sprinkled with herds of fine cattle or luxuriant crops of hay, now almost ready for mowing, afford scenes of a different but not less pleasing character. On the right the hills, projecting like a promontory, and blending themselves with those on the left, enclose these fine meadows in an amphitheatre of beautifully variegated and tufted foliage, unbroken by buildings or any indication of the haunts of man; whilst the left bank, less thickly wooded, presents here and there intervening fields, the high thatched roofs of farms and cottages, and, pre-eminent amongst the whole, the spire of Denderlue peeping through the foliage. Amongst other excursions, one was of a more than commonly interesting nature, since it brought me acquainted, not only with a very lovely spot, but also with a singularly eccentric character--one whose history is of so romantic a nature, that I ever regret not having made myself master of it in all its details; I mean Paul Visconti, Marquis d’Acornati and Lord of Gaesbeke, the chateau of which he inhabits. The first notice we had of this singular man was from some officers of the 23d Light Dragoons, who had been cantoned in his village. On their first arrival the old gentleman was quite furious at the insult offered him in sending troops thither at all, but especially without his having been consulted. The officers, having quartered their men, proceeded to take up their own abode in the chateau, and the Marquis, being aware of this, closed his gates, and made preparations to resist. His garrison consisted of two or three ancient domestics and six or eight young boys. On approaching the gates, the officers were somewhat surprised at seeing guns pointed at them from several embrasures, and at the same time a venerable turbaned head, projecting from one of them, demanded, in good English, how they dared trespass on the property of the Marquis d’Acornati, peremptorily bidding them to depart, or take the consequences. The captain, a true English gentleman, having heard something of the Marquis’s peculiarities from the villagers, instead of resenting the opposition, humoured the old man’s whim, and commenced a parley in the true language and all the forms of chivalry. This was touching the Marquis in a tender point. The gates were thrown open, as were his arms, to these courteous strangers, whom he received and entertained with the hospitality of the olden times during their stay, mourned their departure, and never mentioned them afterwards but in the highest terms of praise. Some of my officers had already visited Gaesbeke, and their accounts excited my curiosity to see this extraordinary man. Accordingly one day mounting Nelly I set out. The road lay through the large village of Lennik St Martin, remarkable in the distance for its handsome spire, towering above the more humble ones of the surrounding villages. Here I found Lieutenant-Colonel Hawker and his adjutant, Lieutenant Anderson. The colonel commanded a division composed of two batteries, 9-pounders, which were cantoned in his immediate neighbourhood, but not in Lennik. Hence the country was exquisite--the scenery acquiring a greater degree of interest from the increasing height of the hills, though in luxuriance and verdure, both of arborific and cereal vegetation, it could not exceed that which I had left behind me.

At length, after a pleasant ride of about twelve miles, on attaining the summit of a hill, the noble Château de Gaesbeke appeared in front, on the edge of a deep ravine, which separated me from it, surrounded by thick woods, the sombre verdure of which harmonised well with the mellowed tone of its antique brick walls and towers, whilst their round tufted tops were finely contrasted with its sharp angles and pointed conical roofs. Crossing the ravine, I arrived on a plateau of rich velvety turf, ornamented by a few clamps of the most superb beech-trees I ever saw in my life, some of their boles rising almost straight forty or fifty feet, without a twig to break the smooth rounded surface of their glossy grey bark. Fine as those composing the great avenue at Strytem were, still they were far exceeded in size, luxuriance, and beauty of form by these. Artificial means are employed to produce these magnificent ornaments of the park or pleasure-ground. Whilst the tree is young it is constantly watched, and every bud carefully eradicated the moment it pierces the bark, until, having attained a certain height, nature is permitted to take her course and push out lateral branches, leaving between them and the soil a stupendous column of timber. A broad carriage-road, winding amongst these clumps, led to the great gate of the chateau, now unsuspicious of another military invasion, standing wide open. It was approached by a stone bridge thrown over a ditch, which, running along the front of the chateau, imperceptibly lost itself in the steep declivity to the right and left. The lofty arched portal was flanked by round towers, having semicircular embrasures on the first floor, and above them a row of arched windows with rusty iron balconies, extending across the gateway also. Toward the right, the two tiers of large French windows gave a more modern air to the curtain (if I may so call it), which was terminated in that direction by an immense elliptical tower, the steep roof of which finished in a short ridge with ornamental iron-work, and a weather-cock at either end. To the left, the blank wall ended in a round tower of smaller dimensions, and without the usual conical roof, its picturesque antique form only partially seen through the foliage of the trees, which formed a screen before that front.

I entered the castle court without seeing a soul, or any indication of the place being inhabited. True, there was little of ruin. The old walls appeared generally in good repair; the glass in the windows was sound, not a pane broken--yet a forlorn deserted aspect reigned over all; and the bent iron ornaments of the roofs, the grass-grown court, and the shattered remains of two or three low-wheeled carriages, lying half buried in the rank vegetation of weeds which had sprung up around them, added not a little to the cheerless desolate aspect of the whole. To the right on entering was a long range of two storeys (which, from the lofty windows, appeared to be the state apartments), terminating at either end with a tower. From the gateway into the angle on the same side similar features indicated other suites of apartments. To the left of the gateway, extending to the tower on that side, were stables and coach-houses. From this tower a parapet-wall followed the outline of the ground along the edge of the declivity, running out in semicircular bastions at intervals of about fifty yards, until, joining the tower at the extremity of the right wing, it completed the enclosure of the court, forming an area of an irregular figure, the low parapet allowing to the windows of the main building a most striking and extensive view over the rich country to the westward. The defence of this front was further increased by a range of casemated apartments, with narrow loop-holes, probably intended for arrows; but whether they extended the whole length of the front, or only under the bastions, I forget. They are entered by a narrow staircase from the court above. In the centre of this court, upon a rude pedestal, was the fragment of a man in a sitting posture, of which the Marquis afterwards gave me a printed explanation, drawn up by himself, tending to show that this must be a remnant of the celebrated Torse de Belvedere, and that the whole constituted a figure of Ulysses, seated, and in the act of discharging an arrow from his bow. But to return. After taking a cursory glance at the general arrangement of the buildings, and finding that the sound of my horse’s feet had no effect in extracting their inhabitants, I rode up to and thundered at a low-arched door which stood half-open in the great tower. The appeal was answered by a sallow-faced dirty boy of fifteen, with long uncombed flaxen locks hanging about his ears, and giving him a peculiarly wild and savage appearance as he stood staring at me with widely-distended eyes. To my inquiry if the Marquis were at home, he only answered by a nod, and then disappeared in the gloom of the dark vaulted passage whence he had emerged. Returning almost immediately, he had found his tongue, and begged me to go to the principal entrance to the right wing (what had once been handsome panelled folding-doors), which he unbolted within, and, taking my horse as I dismounted, ushered me into a large and lofty vestibule of handsome proportions, but quite unfurnished, and in a miserable state of decay. On the opposite side of this, at the desire of my guide, I entered a fine lofty room, with a coved roof, painted in blue and white stripes in imitation of the interior of a Turkish tent, and at the corners, where the drapery was supposed to be gathered up, ornamented with an imitation of golden cords and tassels. Round the walls were suspended trophies formed of swords, daggers, pistols, &c., all richly mounted, and almost all Oriental. The furniture consisted of large ottomans, covered with a striped stuff to match the pattern of the tent. These were ranged round the walls, and there was neither chair nor table in the room, which was lighted by an arched window opening upon a clumsy wooden balcony, and commanding a beautiful view over the distant country and of the deep wooded ravine below. After waiting here about ten minutes, the object of my curiosity made his appearance, followed by a rather vulgar-looking fattish man, with whom he had been engaged, and whom I discovered to be a lawyer of Brussels, and his man of business. This gentleman soon took his leave, and left me _tête-à-tête_ with his client. Let me draw his portrait, while still fresh in my memory: Below the middle size, and a little bent by age; thin, light, and active; a countenance embrowned by southern suns, if not natural; regular features, and a face that had evidently once been handsome; quick, sparkling, intelligent eyes giving to his physiognomy a vivacious expression, rather at variance with the wrinkled cheek of the _octogènaire_. His costume was completely Turkish. A white muslin turban, somewhat soiled, but plentifully beset with precious stones, covered his head; an ample caftan of blue cloth, vest and trousers of the same--the former tied across the chest with strings, the latter large and full-gathered, and at bottom stuffed into a pair of extremely short boots, strangers apparently to Day and Martin or their kindred of the Pays Bas. A crimson silk sash girded his waist, in which was stuck an Oriental poignard, having its handle entirely covered with precious stones, and scabbard tastefully enchased in silver filigree. In his right hand he carried a short hunting-spear, and in his left a small _cor de chasse_. His address, easy and affable, was evidently that of one accustomed to the best society. The reception he gave me was most flattering, and even affectionate; and he incessantly repeated his admiration of England and her sons. For my part, I told only half the truth in stating that the celebrity of his chateau and gardens had procured him the honour of this visit, never hinting how great a lion he was himself. After a short conversation, he proposed showing me his chateau, &c., and conducting me through several apartments on the ground-floor, we arrived at his own bed-room in the extremity of the building. Nothing can be conceived more desolate and cheerless. Superb as to dimensions and form, these apartments were completely unfurnished, and in a most melancholy state of dilapidation. The painting soiled and faded, the elaborately-moulded ceilings and cornices coming down piecemeal and covering the floors with their fragments; these floors themselves rotten, and sinking in many places into holes. The shutters of the high and numerous windows, some closed entirely, others only half; others, again, with one leaf, perhaps, on the floor, and one hanging by a single hinge. Such was the appearance of these once lordly rooms. I shuddered as I traversed this scene of former splendour--of present degradation. The mind, always busy on these occasions, called up the beruffed slashed-sleeve cavalier of other days; the courtly dame, the stomacher resplendent with costly jewels, ebon locks falling in ringlets over her bare, well-turned shoulders and swelling bosom. How changed the scene! The lordly _châtelain_ has given place to the little curved Turkish figure before me; the brilliant assemblage of knights and dames to desolation and solitude.

The dormitory of mine host, where at least some comfort might have been expected, was only of a piece with the rest. Coarse, scanty, and not very clean-looking bedding, lying in a confused heap upon a low bedstead of common deal, without curtains--in short, such a bed as one sometimes sees in an ostler’s room over the stables--a rickety deal table, and a couple of old chairs. None of the appurtenances of the toilet, nor any apparent means of stowing his wardrobe; bare walls, and nought else. One might have imagined it the abode of some poor devil whom charity had admitted to occupy a nook in the deserted mansion. The Marquis showed all with perfect _sang-froid_, unconscious that there was anything strange in a man of his princely fortune living like a pauper, and continued leading me from room to room, until we arrived at one smaller than the rest, and a little less dilapidated, which he announced as his study--a title to which a huge table, occupying the greater part of it, and covered with a heap of papers, pictures, and writing material, all intermingled in most glorious confusion, seemed to give some colour; and here were also two or three common chairs. From amongst the litter on the table, after a little hunting, he rummaged out a small miniature of a female, which he thrust into my hand with an air of exultation, as much as to say, “There!--what think you of that?” and evidently supposing me as intimate with its features as himself, and as evidently mortified at my asking who the original might be, whilst, with rather a haughty air, he informed me that it was the portrait of his dear mistress (kissing it respectfully), the Empress Maria Theresa, whom he had had the honour to serve as an officer of Hungarian hussars many years. Whilst laying the miniature again on the table, he hurried out of the room, motioning me to follow him. The old man was quite chivalric when speaking on this subject, and apparently quite in earnest.

Our next visit was to the kitchen, whither he took me to see the thickness of the walls, which were no less than 10 feet. Such a den as this never before sullied the respected name of kitchen. From the smallness of the windows, or port-holes, and the enormous thickness of the walls, it was, even at this time of day, almost dark enough to require candles; spacious and vaulted, with a floor all decayed--and no wonder, for it was in great part covered by an immense heap of potatoes, and quite devoid of furniture. Its occupants were a second Dame Leonarda, and three or four dirty boys, lounging indolently about. A wood-fire blazed on the ash-encumbered hearth, over which was suspended an iron pot filled with potatoes. He then led me through the casemates or subterraneous defences on the western side, before mentioned; and having thus completed our survey of the castle, we sallied from the portal to visit the gardens and _pleasaunce_, the Marquis stepping out with all the briskness of youth. We had got about half-way over the lawn, under one of the magnificent clumps of beeches, when suddenly my conductor, stopping, put his horn to his mouth and blew such a peal as made the woods ring again. No result followed, and as he had not explained himself, I was at a loss to conjecture the meaning of this, unless it were to let me hear the echo. After waiting impatiently a few minutes, the sound was repeated, and an instant afterwards out came all the boys scampering through the portal and over the turf towards us, with an activity strongly contrasted with their former listlessness. This, however, did not satisfy their master, who, rating them soundly for their inattention to his first summons, ordered them to bring out the _carriole_. In a few minutes one of the old carriages I had seen in the court was drawn out by a miserable half-starved-looking beast, hardly deserving the name of a horse, and with harness to match--that is, old, rusty, broken, and mended with bits of cord, &c. Into the suspicious-looking vehicle we both got, and having exchanged his hunting-spear for a shabby whip, the Marquis proceeded to do coachman, and conducted me through his lovely domain; for lovely it really was, in spite of the neglect evident in all directions--a circumstance, however, that one scarcely regretted, since it threw such an air of wildness over the scenery as to make it most charming.

The ground on which the castle stood ran out in knolls, with very abrupt slopes, forming deep ravines, at the bottom of which streams of limpid water ran bubbling along, until finding their way to the main trunk, or great ravine, under the western front, they there united their waters and formed a small lake, whose placid surface was animated by swans and whole flocks of wildfowl, which here found an undisturbed retreat. The whole of the ground above described, excepting the level lawn in front of the great gate, was thickly covered with wood--in some parts impervious from the thick shrubbery of undergrowth, in others clear from this encumbrance--affording splendid forest vistas between the boles of the magnificent trees--the ground beneath carpeted with the most beautiful variety imaginable of mosses and wild-flowers--innumerable creepers hanging in festoons from the branches, with here and there a venerable ruin, fallen against and only supported by its neighbours, increasing the wildness and charm of this enchanting scenery. At times, after following a path winding through the thick shrubberies, and overshadowed by the luxuriant branches of the forest trees, so as to be in perfect twilight, we suddenly came upon a small cleared space, carpeted with turf, in the centre of which, perhaps, was a rustic altar, or the fragment of a column, the marble of which, stained by damps or the encroachments of variously-coloured lichens, harmonised well with the tints of the sylvan scene around it. Some of these were simple cylinders; others were angular, with projecting cornices. Offerings of flowers there were on many of them--evidence of the feelings and peculiar sentiments of the noble proprietor, and that, although neglectful as far as repairs went, he still had eyes to see and a heart to feel the beauties of his lovely domain. Again emerging from the _demi-jour_ of the cool _berceau_, the road wound round the face of a knoll, affording a charming view of the distant country, with the lordly chateau towering in the foreground; then replunging into obscurity, it opened again on a scene as extensive but of a totally different character--the country towards Hal, with its long and more thinly-wooded slopes and summits. In one place, a clearing of three or four acres, bearing a crop of potatoes, presented precisely such a scene as one meets with in America--the ground still encumbered with roots and branches, the lofty surrounding wall of grey stems, here and there a tree fallen against its neighbours, or hanging forward as if ready to come to the ground at a touch; in short, a scene of such savage wildness as one would hardly expect to meet in this land of culture and improvement.

After a delightful drive, we returned to the chateau, passing under the ramparts of the garden, which, lying on the slope of the hill, are banked up in such a manner as to form a succession of nearly level terraces. These are laid out in parterres, ornamented with statues and fragments, &c. In the centre of these, a circular wooden tower rises to a great height, forming a conspicuous object from all the neighbouring country, over which the gallery on its summit commands a most extensive view. The walls of this tower are of open work, and, as well as the winding staircase within, are said to be a _chêf d’œuvre_ of carpentry.

As it was growing late, I was obliged to decline my host’s invitation to visit his farm in the valley below; and having, with the assistance of one of his young pages, saddled my horse, I took leave, and returned to Strytem highly pleased with my excursion.

A few days afterwards the Marquis sent me a bundle of papers containing the history of Gaesbeke and its counts; but being unable from want of leisure to copy any of it, I can only remember that the chateau was built about the middle of the thirteenth century by one of the Counts of Brabant, of whom it long continued to be the principal residence. Of the present proprietor I could learn little except what was imparted by himself during our ride, in substance as follows:--Paul Acornati Visconti, an Italian by birth, inherits Gaesbeke in right of his mother, and by the father’s side is of the celebrated family of Visconti of Milan. Early in life he entered the Austrian army, and served as lieutenant and captain of Hungarian hussars during the Seven Years’ War. At the peace of 1763, finding himself free, and in possession of a princely fortune, he gave himself up to his vagabond propensities, and passed his time in wandering over Europe, &c. &c. In this way he ran over all Germany, France, and much of Russia and Poland; traversed Denmark, Sweden, and Lapland as far as the North Cape. Either Dr Clarke or Acerbi mentions meeting him at Tornea, or having heard of him there. He then visited the British Islands, where he remained some time (I think he told me he had been twelve times to England), extending his wanderings to the remotest corners of Ireland, the Highlands of Scotland, and the Western Isles. Here (in England) he became acquainted with many of our celebrated characters--civil, military, and literary--of whose intimacy he was not a little proud. He was delighted with England and its inhabitants, but his fondness for both yielded to the unaccountable mania with which he was subsequently seized for Turkey, the Turks, their manners, their institutions, and everything belonging to them; and after a prolonged residence amongst them, only returned to his own country when the management of his extensive estates in Italy and the Pays Bas imperatively required his presence. What his religious sentiments might have been I know not, but in every other respect he had become a complete Turk, and so determined to remain; thus he has always dressed in the Oriental costume, as I found him, and in every other way conforms to their customs. I have already described the person of this curious character. His health and activity are remarkable; and although a little curved, there is nothing of the old man in his step, which is firm, light, and active; his usual pace is a little trot. His manner of living is extremely simple; his diet, I believe, principally vegetable, and his beverage water. He seldom goes to bed before midnight, rising again at three o’clock in the morning; and to this habit of early rising he assured me he was indebted for his good health. Whether he had ever been married I know not, but that he had a daughter I know, since in the note of invitation to a fête he intended giving at Brussels, he particularly mentioned his wish to introduce me to her. Amongst the people of the neighbourhood I found he bore various characters, some ascribing his eccentricities to a deranged intellect, others to philosophy. Others believed him to be a magician, wherefore the peasantry in general stand in great awe of him. All, however, allow that he is a most charitable, good man. It is said that his liberality towards even his most distant relations is so great, that they amongst them enjoy more of his wealth than he does himself. That he is wealthy is out of the question; his property is immense. Besides the Gaesbeke estate, he possesses others both in the Pays Bas and in Italy. Most of the best houses in Brussels are his, and the Gaesbeke property alone comprises seventeen villages and parishes. His own house in Brussels is said to be a magnificent one; in it he gave the fête to which I was invited, which I afterwards heard was very splendid, the first people of the country and many of our most distinguished officers having been present. He seldom resides in Brussels for any length of time, nor are his visits to that city frequent, as he prefers retirement and the country.

The establishment at Gaesbeke consisted only of a gardener, an old woman as cook, &c., and some five or six boys, from twelve to sixteen years of age, whom he sometimes dressed in the Hungarian hussar uniform, at others as Orientals--so said the people. Be that as it may, they all wore the usual dress of the country when I saw them. After this first visit the lovely domain of Gaesbeke became a favourite lounge, and I passed many a delicious morning wandering about its cool shady walks. Sometimes the Marquis was at home, sometimes not, but it made little difference--he always received me with the same kindness, and seemed not a little flattered at the pleasure I took in his favourite woods; but we neither of us interrupted the pursuits of the other, for if he were employed he continued his employment, otherwise he would sometimes accompany me himself, or send one of his young pages, if there were anything to be done or seen that required assistance or a guide. It was not without regret that, eventually, I was obliged to leave his neighbourhood without having had an opportunity of taking leave of him.

There was another extraordinary character--a man of great wealth, too--residing within a few miles of us, at Ternath, or St Ulris Capelle; but him I only heard of from Leathes, who had visited him, which I never had an opportunity of doing. This man differed from Acornati in having his chateau splendidly furnished and his pleasure-grounds, described as vieing in beauty with those of Gaesbeke, kept in most excellent order. He had, moreover, a choice collection of paintings.