cities numbered, in their population, as many Protestants as Catholics. After the intolerable persecutions and butcheries of the reigns of Charles V. and his son Philip II., which roused the seven northern provinces, now called Holland, to throw off the iron yoke of fierce and bigoted Spain, the Protestant religion, which finally triumphed in those parts,-had, in the south, become almost extinct; and under the Spanish, and the Austrian sway, in the 17th and 18th centuries, very few Protestant churches remained in the provinces now constituting the Belgian monarchy.

During the period that the country remained incorporated with France-from the time of the French Revolution to the fall of Napoleon,-a few Protestant chapels were opened in some of the larger cities. After the southern provinces of the Low Countries were annexed to the northern, by the Congress of Vienna,-to form the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, under the government of William of Nassau,-successful efforts, encouraged by the king, were made to promote the Protestant religion: churches and chapels were now to be found in most of the important cities of Belgium, and the cause of truth made considerable progress. M. Merle d'Aubigné, now president of the Evangelical School of Theology at Geneva, preached for several years at Brussels, during the latter part of the Dutch dominion,—and with considerable success.

The progress of the Protestant faith received a temporary check, at the Revolution of 1830;-and the Catholics were in great hopes of getting rid, altogether, of Protestant sway:-through the influence of England, however, a government has been established, on enlightened principles, under Leopold; and by the charter, perfect toleration is secured to all religious opinions. Several of the Protestant churches were reduced very low, in 1830, by the withdrawal of great numbers of Dutch families into Holland; and the new government refused to support the pastors, as heretofore, on account of the insignificance of the congregations: yet there is reason to believe that Protestantism has, by this time, in a great measure, recovered from the shock which it appeared to sustain at the revolution; and that it will continue to make advances, in a soil of freedom, and under the influence of those spontaneous sacrifices of money,-talent,time, and labour,-which constitute the surest basis, on which the gospel may be expected to command the unbought, and universal homage of mankind, and achieve the triumphs of the millennium.

There is a Bible Society at Brussels, which has printed the New Testament in the Flemish language; and which, notwithstanding many difficulties, is doing much good: a Tract Society also exists, which has printed many small treatises in

Flemish. M. Boucher conducts a religious periodical entitled La Vérité; and this faithful and zealous young minister preaches to a congregation at Brussels, apparently with success. M. Devismes,

another devoted minister of the gospel, labours at Dour, near Valenciennes; and has been very useful to the miners of that region. About 400,000 children are instructed, in schools, throughout Belgium: they have, till of late, been very destitute of Bibles, but are now being supplied, through the agency of the British and Foreign Bible Society. In the schools of Brussels, eight hundred and forty copies of the sacred records have been distributed, very lately, in the course of a few weeks; and colporteurs, or itinerant venders of the Scriptures, are continually employed in diffusing and explaining them, wherever they can find opportunity.

By means of these, and similar exertions, not a few of the Belgians have, within these last five or six years, been brought to the Protestant faith, at Brussels, and other cities: but the overwhelming mass still remain Roman Catholics, and, next to those of Spain, are reckoned the most bigotted on the continent of Europe. From a pamphlet written about the beginning of 1835, by M. de Potter, who took so conspicuous a part in the Revolution,— it would seem, that the priests have tried every indirect means in their power, to contravene the spirit of the charter, in regard to religious freedom.

LETTER V.

Road to Aix-la-Chapelle-Prussian frontier-Germany-Townhouse Mineral waters-Change in the coin-Public walks-Cathedral-Charlemagne-Relics, in the sanctuary-General outline of German history-Conflicts between the German tribes and the Romans-Empire of Charlemagne-Its division -Extinction of the Carlovingian dynasty in Germany-The German empire elective-House of Saxony-House of Franconia-House of Suabia-Great Interregnum-Rudolph, and the first Austrian dynasty-Second Austrian dynasty, or Lorraine branch-Dignity of the Holy Roman Empire-Effect of the French Revolution, and the subsequent power of BonaparteConfederation of the Rhine; and dissolution of the German empire-Austrian empire-Gigantic efforts of Germany against the return of Bonaparte to power, in 1815-Germanic Confederation.

MY DEAR FRIEND: The road to Aachen,-or, as the French call it,-Aix-la-Chapelle, passes through a very rich country, covered with many villages; but we were much annoyed with immense clouds of dust; and while we had dust from without, there was

smoke within, for the pipe was now, for the first time, introduced, without ceremony, into the diligence;but we were on the borders of Germany. As we advanced, the road wound beautifully between the hills, and the country was delightfully wooded, on an immense scale. Near Verviers, where is manufactured the finest cloth of the Netherlands, our passport was very civilly inspected, preparatory to entering the Prussian dominions; and, farther on, it was regularly visé; and the luggage was searched by the Prussian authorities. At Néaux, or Reipen, another manufacturing town, all the inscriptions on the houses became at once changed from French to German, indicating that we were now in the territory which, after the downfall of the French dominion, was annexed, by the Congress of Vienna, to Prussia,—once a petty duchy of the German empire, but which has, by degrees, become a firstrate European power. As we proceeded,—the road became worse and worse; we had before experienced nothing like it; the jolting was quite electrical.

AIX-LA-CHAPELLE is a city of Roman origin,the ancient coronation-place of the German emperors. The entrance to it is very handsome, by a uniform, new street; and as you proceed into the town, there are very good walks and boulevards. This city was the birth-place of Charlemagne. It possesses at present only a fraction of its former population, but has still all the