After having taken a long walk through the city, I engaged a room at a
hotel where one of the boarders could speak a little English, and soon
retired to take an afternoon nap. I awoke to broad daylight, but did not
at once know whether it was _that day_, or _the next day already_; and
there was no one about, just then, whom I could have asked! As the sun was
standing in the western sky, I concluded that it was more likely that I
had slept only a few hours, than that I should have slept 27 hours; and
when the landlord was contended with the payment of one night's lodging, I
felt satisfied that I could not have stayed two nights with him! On
Saturday afternoon, after my nap, I went out again to see the city.
Brussels is one of the most progressive capitals in all Europe. Several
splendid boulevards lined with fine cafes and large edifices adorned with
innumerable balconies, reminded me of Paris and its architectural scenery.
It has a passage that compares well, both in brilliancy and magnificence,
with some of the grandest in Paris. The Bourse de Commerce, (just
completed), with its four elegant facades, would do credit to any city,
and its market houses are among the finest that I have ever seen.

On Sunday (August 8th) I found all kinds of business being transacted,
just as is done in Paris. On my way to the Cathedral, I met a dozen
dog-teams that Sunday morning. Quite a small dog will draw a larger cart
load of milk, than I would have expected that half a dozen of them could
pull. The milk is distributed over the city by women, principally. It
seems strange, how much work must be done by the women, where the men are
required to spend a large portion of their time in the service of their
respective countries, constituting the large standing armies with which
Europe is flooded. Some of these women have large dogs to draw their
milk-carts, others have smaller ones hitched to one side and assist them
by pulling themselves on the other side of the shaft!