two hours' steam passage from Dover, to which it is joined by the electric telegraph. It appears to have been founded by the Counts of Flanders in the 11th century; and was chosen as his place of embarkation by Louis the Dauphin, when the malcontents, under King John, offered him the crown of England. Subsequently to the battle of Crécy, in 1346, it was taken after 11 months' siege (Eustace St. Pierre leading the defenders), by the English, who kept it till the Duke of Guise recaptured it in Mary's time, 1558, to the profound mortification of the Queen and the nation. "If you open my body after my death," she said, "you will find Calais written on my heart."

Calais forms a long square, surrounded by ramparts (which have a view of the English coast) and ditches, and defended by several forts, as Forts Rouge and Vert (red and green), on the piers; another, on the quay; Fort Nieuley, on the southwest; and Cardinal Richelieu's strong Citadel, to the west, commanding the whole. The shallow Harbour is the mouth of the river de Hames, enclosed between piers, one of which is three-quarters of a mile long, with a pillar on the spot where Louis XVIII. set his foot in 1814. The inscription itself, which was meant pour en perpetuer le souvenir" of this event, is now hid away under a staircase in the museum. The harbour was deepened in 1842, but passengers sometimes land in boats still. A Gate, built by Richelieu in 1685, called the Porte du Havre, which figures in Hogarth's picture of the "Roast Beef of England," leads from the pier.

66

The streets are narrow, the houses chiefly of brick, and common-looking. In the Grand Place, or Place du Beffroi, are the Light-house or old look-out tower, and the Hôtel de Ville, with busts of St. Pierre, the Duc de Guise, and Richelieu, in front; inside, is the library of 6,000 volumes. The Duc de Guise, thus celebrated as the "deliverer" of Calais, is here confounded with his son, surnamed Balafré. The Church, built by the English, is a cross-shaped Gothic structure, with a good spiretower, and pinnacles, and contains 11 chapels, a fine marble altar, and a painting by Vandyke. St. Pierre is in Basse Ville, or Lower Town in the

are employed in the tulle and lace factories.

At the Museum (open three days a-week, from 10 to 5), is the car of Blanchard, the æronaut, who, with Dr. Jeffries, safely crossed the channel in 1785; also several portraits, autographs, and pictures, including Correggio's "Vierge au Bandeau," given to the town by the Princess of Canino (Lucien Bonaparte's wife), who was born here in 1788. In Cour de Guise is the old Hôtel, which belonged to the merchants of the wool staple, and where Henry VIII. lodged. There are a large barrack, a salle de spectacle, or theatre, a navigation school, &c., and good Baths, to which reading, dancing, and other rooms are attached; subscriptions, 10 fr. a month; a single bath, 1 fr. A stone outside the Boulogne gate marks the place where the unfortunate Lady Hamilton was buried.

La Place, the astronomer, and Mollier, the traveller, were natives. They show Sterne's room at

Dessin's hotel.

A canal is cut to the river Aa, which goes to St. Omer, past the Field of the Cloth of Gold. The fishermen live in the suburbs of Courgaine.

Trade in lace, fish, eggs, spirits, salt, and steam engines for pressing linseed oil.

Conveyances: By rail, to Boulogne, Lille, Paris, Brussels, Cologne, &c. (See BRADSHAW's Continental Guide); by coach to Gravelines and Dunkirk. By steamer to Dover, 2 hours; to London direct, 10 hours. The electric telegraph is laid to Boulogne and Paris.

[From Calais, on the road to Dunkerque, or Dunkirk, you pass

Gravelines (22 kil.); on a flat dreary coast, a port of 6,430 souls, at the Aa's mouth, where Henry VIII. embarked in 1520. Here the Spaniards and English defeated Francis I., 1558. A branch rail, via Watten (see page 3), was opened 1873. It has an arsenal, and a monument by Girardon, in the church. Flax, hemp, corn, colza, &c., are abundant in this country of dykes and willows. Hotel.-Lesur.

At 20 kil. further is Dunkirk (see Route 3).] A rail in progress from Calais to Gravelines and Dunkirk will open a direct route this way to Brussels.

From Calais, the first station is the suburban village of

St. Pierre (1 mile), the birth-place of the famous Eustache St. Pierre, the defender of Calais in the siege of 1347 (above-mentioned) against Edward III.; who was so incensed by the long resistance he experienced here, that he was about to put him and five other leaders to death, when they were saved by the intercession of Queen Philippa-the subject of a well-known picture. Here is Trinity Church for the use of English residents.

[The connecting rail with Boulogne, 27 miles long, passes hence by the following stations:Caffières (9 miles).

Marquise-Rinxent (6 miles), on the Slack, which has a fine linden tree and marble quarries, with Pinart's large iron foundry, is near AMBLETEUSE, where James II. landed, 1688, in his flight from England. Population, 3,930. Near it are the quarries of Ferques and Landretun, with some remains of Beaulieu Abbey (founded 1150), and Druid stones near the former. Wimille (6 miles), where the two unfortunate äeronauts, Rosier and St. Romain, are buried. In trying to cross the Channel, 1785, they fell from a height of 3,000 feet. Lower down the stream is the small port of Wimereau. Hence through a flat, sandy, and marshy soil to Boulogne (4 miles), in Route 2.]

Ardres (6 miles), a small fortified town near the Field of the Cloth of Gold, where Henry VIII. and Francis I. met, 1520; so called from the splendid equipages displayed, of which there is a curious picture at Hampton Court. All this part is now covered with willows and flax fields, in the centre of which is the village of Les Saules (population, 900), which grows as much as 80,000l. worth of flax yearly. The écouchers, or scutchers, prepare steeped flax for the spinners, working in little clay-built huts, or boutiques. At Tournehem, near this, is an old castle which belonged to Anthony of Burgundy. Coach to Guines (once a fortress) with 4,700 souls, and a trade in cattle and poultry.

Audruicq (54 miles). Coach to Bourbourg. Watten (7 miles), the ancient Itium prom. to which the sea came up in Cæsar's time. It has an

old watch tower on the hill, from whence England may be seen, and where stood a house of pilgrimage. From here a branch rail to Gravelines (see page 2) was opened 1873. The next station (5 miles) is ST. OMER,

Where the line from Bologna comes in (page 14). HOTELS.-Hotel de la Porte d'Or, Rue St. Bertin. New proprietor, D. Coolen. Very attentive and charges moderate. Hotel d'Angleterre; Du Com

merce.

English Church Service, on Sundays, in Rue de Bon Pasteur.

OBJECTS OF NOTICE.-The Church-St. Bertin's Tower-Jesuits' College.

A fortified town of the third class, and sous-préfecture, in department Pas-de-Calais, in a marshy spot, on the Aa, where six great roads meet; with 22,000 inhabitants. During the fury of the Revolution its name was changed to "Morin la Montagne!" It is surrounded by the canals and gardens of a Flemish-speaking population. St. Audomar founded a church here, and gave his name to the town. Louis XIV. took it from Flanders, 1677. The old cathedral Churc of Nôtre Dame was begun in the 14th century, on the site of St. Audomar's, whose tomb it contains, besides good carved work, a picture by Rubens, &c. It is 321 feet long, and deserves examination; the clock shows the moon's changes, the months, the signs of the zodiac, &c. This is at one end of the town; at the opposite end stands a Tower only of St. Bertin's Abbey, where Childeric III. died. It was one of the finest convents in this part, with an income of half a million livres. The Tower of St. Denis's church is in the same massive style. The Jesuits' College, built 1615-36, for English Roman Catholics, is now occupied by a commercial school; its church is worth notice. Here O'Connell began his education when a boy. The Hôtel de Ville is modern, with a dome; the museum has some antiquities; and there are 18,000 volumes in the public library. An arsenal was built in 1781. Occasionally, military manoeuvres on a large scale are practised here, and at Helfaut Camp, 18 miles distant.

Linens, flannels, paper, excellent pipes, &c., are made, and a good trade carried on.

In the neighbourhood are Clairmarais abbey (5 kil.), and its floating islands, and the old Castle

1

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of Arques (2 kil.) near the Sept Ecluses, or seven locks of the Aa, in its descent to Gravelines. It is on the line from Boulogne.

Eblinghem (6 miles).

Hazebrouck (6 miles), where the lines to Dunkirk and Lille join, is a sous-préfecture of 5,600 souls, in a fertile spot, on a branch of the Lys. It has a large church, built 1490-1520, with a handsome spire-tower of 276 feet; a new Hôtel de Ville, fronted by a portico of twelve pillars; a government tobacco factory, at the old Augustine convent; a library of 4,000 volumes. Linen, soap, &c., are made.

Hotel.-Des Trois Chevaux (three horses). Passing Steenbecque (4 miles) and Thiennes (3 miles) the line reaches

Aire (3 miles), a third class fortress, where the Lys and Laquette meet the St. Omer and Bassée canals. It has a belfry; and St. Paul's Gothic Church. Malle branche was a native. Population, 8,300.

Hotels.-D'Angleterre; De France.

Lillers (4 miles), in department Pas-de-Calais, on the fertile banks of the Nave, where one of the earliest artesian wells in France was bored, socalled from the old name, Artois, of this province. Population, 6,000.

The next station Chocques, is followed by Bethune (4 miles), a station on the main line from Hazebrouck to Arras, a sous-préfecture, and a strong military place of the second class, on the river Brette. The grand place (square) has, near the Hôtel de Ville, a curious and lofty spire-tower or belfry. Much of the water is supplied by artesian wells, which were first tried here. Population, 8,300.

Hotels.-De France; D'Angleterre; Du Lion' d'Or (Golden Lion).

The wood of Dames Chartreuses offers a fine panorama.

From Bethune a rail proceeds to Douai, by way of Lens and Carvin; another, 34 miles long, proceeds to Lille, by way of Bully-Grenay and Vioс laines; another (opened 1875) to St. Pòl and Arras (page 8).

t

F

Lens, an old place on the Eleux, where the Prince of Condé, in 1648, gained a victory over the Spaniards.

Farbus-Vimy, followed by
Arras, for which, see below.
[The line towards Lille passes
Strazeele (4 miles). *

Bailleul (5 miles), an ancient-looking place, on a hill, with old carved houses, St. Waast's old church, and a Jesuits' college. Population, 10,200. Steenwerck (2 miles).

Armentières (5 miles), on the Lys, noted for its grain, linen, &c. Population, 11,100. Perenchies (3 miles). The next place to this (5 miles) is

LILLE.

65 miles from Calais.

HOTELS. De l'Europe, the best in the town; Paris; Nouveau Monde ; Flandre; France; Chemin de fer du Nord.

English Vice Consul, and English Church Service.

OBJECTS OF NOTICE.-Citadel-Church, and Porte St. André-St. Maurice's Church-Hôtel de Ville-Museum-Hôpital Comtesse.

Population, 158,117. A large manufacturing town, on the Belgian frontier, capital of department du Nord (formerly of French Flanders), and a strongly fortified post, standing in a fertile and populous plain, covered with windmills and factories, on the Deule. It grew out of an abbey, founded about 840; was improved by Baldwin V., in 1047, and after many events, including the taking of it from the Spaniards, by Louis XIV., in 1667, and from the French, by Marlborough, in 1708, it was finally given up to France, 1713.

In shape it is an oval, about 2,620 yards by 1,300 yards, entirely closed in by ramparts and ditches, strengthened by 15 bastions, by Fort St. Maurice on the south-east side, and a Citadel of great extent, on the west. The latter, one of Vauban's best, is five-sided, and considered almost impregnable. The Austrians tried to take it, 1792, but without success; a fact commemorated by a bronze column, in the Grande Place, near the Bourse.

Porte St. André is the oldest of its seven gates, having been built in 1670; the Porte de Paris has a triumphal arch, by Volans, built 1682, in honour of Louis XIV., whose bust is here, accompanied by figures of Hercules and Mars. The best streets are