The throng that was assembled in the Brussels ThÉÂtre de la Monnaie on the evening of the 25th of August, 1830, listened for a time “A mon pays je dois la vie, Il me devra la libertÉ!” The revolution begun in this dramatic fashion continued until Belgium took its place as a nation among the European powers. The new Constitution made it one of the freest countries in the world, with representative government, freedom of the press, trial by jury, freedom of education, and complete religious tolerance. The family of Orange-Nassau was forever excluded from the throne, and Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg was chosen king. Although a Protestant, Leopold proved an excellent king of a Catholic country, by his wisdom and prudence tiding the nation over several political crises and firmly establishing the kingdom. While still prince, he had married Princess Charlotte, heir to the crown of Great Leopold’s eldest child, a boy, died in babyhood. The daughter, Charlotte, became the wife of the unfortunate Maximilian, whom Napoleon III sent to establish a monarchy in Mexico during our Civil War. She accompanied him to Mexico, was crowned Empress at his side, and when the Mexicans rose against them, returned to Europe to seek aid. Maximilian was shot in her absence. At the news of his death she lost her reason, but she always remembers the fatal date, and shuts herself up in her chÂteau near Brussels and refuses to see any one on that day. She never forgets that she has been an Empress. In the first days of her madness she thought she was being poisoned, but this fear was finally overcome and she was persuaded to eat by one of her favourite ladies-in-waiting. The third son of Leopold I was Philip, Comte de Flandre, father of King Albert. Philip died in 1905. It was the second son, Leopold II, who, Leopold’s only son died before he was ten years old, but there were three daughters—Louise, who married Duke Philip of Saxe-Coburg; Stephanie, who married Crown Prince Rudolph of Austria; and ClÉmentine, the wife of Prince Victor Napoleon. The marriage of Louise was most unfortunate, and she left her husband, who was said to be unkind to her. She has married several times since, and has contracted large debts. Stephanie’s marriage was also unhappy, and ended in the mysterious death of her husband, who either took his own life or was murdered in his shooting lodge near Vienna. They had one son, who died in boyhood. His death, as well as that of King Albert’s elder brother, occurred in January, and it is for that reason that the Belgian royal family say that January always brings them ill A charming French lady-in-waiting took us directly into the salon, where we saw a fine collection of Napoleonic relics. The Princess soon entered. We found her regal, with dark eyes and blonde hair. She struck us as a clever woman, with a good deal of power and dash. After a little while the Prince entered. He was good looking, of medium size, with dark hair and moustache and handsome eyes. We had a very pleasant half hour. With all the pageantry of Burgundian days, in a splendid procession of church dignitaries, troops, and officials of the Government, and surrounded by royalties, Leopold began his reign with a Joyous Entry into Brussels, and was duly presented with the keys of the city. The capital was his immediate care. His first speech from the throne was upon the subject of beautifying the city and improving its sanitary Belgium had now a sovereign who was strong, both physically and mentally. He entered the Senate while still Duc de Brabant, and was soon recognized as a thinker and orator. But before all else, he was an able man of business. He had the foresight and breadth of view of a statesman, with the financial ability and power to handle men that belong to a captain of industry. He was interested in the construction of roads and tramway lines, in the extension of the canal system, and in measures for restoring Antwerp and Bruges, and other Belgian towns to their ancient position as queens of commerce. In every way the King sought to develop the resources of his realm, and the marvelous prosperity of the country before the present war broke out is proof that he succeeded. In addressing the delegates of industry and commerce, early in his reign, he said, “We have been the first on the Continent to construct railways; let us understand how to prolong them by lines of navigation.” It was not many years before Belgian steamship lines were formed. An early riser and indefatigable worker, Leopold often summoned his attendants at five o’clock in the morning and remained at his desk until evening. All day long, a procession of orderlies on bicycles, in swift succession, bore his orders from the study at Laeken, where he worked, to his secretary’s office in Brussels. Although in the previous reign the two political parties, Clericals and Liberals, had fought some hard battles, the Liberals continued in power more or less for twenty years. The return of the Catholic party was effected in 1884, and although their rule has been bitterly contested by the Opposition, they have held the reins of government for thirty years. At the Geographical Congress held in Brussels in September, 1876, which was attended by representatives from all the great Powers, the question of the suppression of the slave trade in Africa was discussed. Leopold wanted to open Africa to civilization, and records and letters of the time show that he was apparently quite sincere in wishing to suppress a traffic of unspeakable cruelty, carried on by Arabs and Portuguese adventurers of the worst type. The King’s speech before the Congress contained the following words: “The Slave Trade, which still exists over a large part of the African continent, is a plague spot that every friend of civilization would wish to see disappear. If we succeed in establishing stations along the routes followed by the slave merchants this odious traffic will be wiped out. The stations, while serving as points for travelers, will powerfully contribute toward the evangelization of the blacks and toward the introduction The most important result of the Conference was the formation of the International Association for the Suppression of the Slave Trade and the Opening of Central Africa. Leopold was made president, and it was due to his energy and wisdom that Belgium persevered in this undertaking. In answer to his appeal for money and men, men of good standing applied, and money poured in from his people—a little came from other countries—and his private fortune was freely spent in opening up the Dark Continent. When Stanley returned to Europe in 1878, Leopold’s agents met him at Marseilles and secured his services to conduct the work of the International Association on the Congo. In five years six expeditions were sent out, and many lives were lost. Stanley planted forty stations, and established a line of steamers on the river to connect with the caravan route from the coast. Stations were granted by chiefs in exchange for guns, coats and other articles that pleased their fancy. America was first to recognize the new State. At the Congress of Berlin, in 1884, it was recognized by the great Powers, was declared open By the decree of 1885 all “vacant” land in the Congo was declared the property of the State, but in reality it became the property of Leopold. Land was considered vacant when not actually occupied by buildings or cultivated for foodstuffs. Not until 1892, however, was this theory made the actual rule of administration. Before that time, in the words of the distinguished Belgian Socialist leader, M. Vandervelde (whose wife has lately been lecturing in America in the cause of Belgian Relief), “The rights of the natives were recognized, not only over the land they cultivated, and over the land upon which they had built their habitations, but also over the forests which form the markets of their villages; the forests where, from time immemorial, they and their ancestors hunted the elephant and the antelope, collected palm oil and kernels, and gathered rubber either for the purposes of sale or for home use. During that period the Congo State acted as sovereign and not as merchant.” To secure rubber now became, however, the single aim of the man who ruled the Congo. Three commissioners were appointed to enforce the “system”; a governor-general was selected and district commissioners were chosen. Under these governors of districts were native captains, or “capitas.” The agents in charge of these capitas were paid according to the amount of rubber collected, so most of them were unscrupulous as to the means used in obtaining it. The capitas were also paid in proportion to the quantity of rubber they were able to squeeze from the natives, and they were so brutal that often whole villages rose up and killed them. From travelers, from missionaries, and finally from the British consul in the Congo came reports of the cruelties practised on the natives. In July, 1903, a memorable debate took place in the Belgian Chamber, in which M. Vandervelde and M. Lorand fiercely denounced the policy of Leopold in the Congo. M. Vandervelde began by saying he had never denied the greatness of the effort accomplished by some of his compatriots in Africa. He went on to say that the object of the discussion was solely to learn if the Congo State had fulfilled its international obligations; that Belgium had put fifteen million francs into the “The Congo State,” said M. Lorand, “has not only become the greatest vendor of ivory and rubber in the world, but has been enabled with its surplus revenues to conduct enterprises in China and elsewhere, to purchase property in Belgium, and concessions at Hankow.” Though there was no immediate result from the agitation in the Belgian House, the efforts of English reformers made it necessary to take some action in regard to the complaints. Leopold accordingly appointed a Commission of Inquiry, composed of a Belgian, an Italian and a Swiss, all able men. They went out to the Congo, where they examined a multitude of witnesses, and at the end of a year their conclusions were published. In this report they practically reiterated—though in diplomatic language—all the charges of the reformers. Finally, in 1908, this vast African dependency was annexed to Belgium, which secured complete parliamentary control over the whole region. The next year, Prince, now King, In the early days many Belgians went to the Congo to escape debt; today, they pass examinations, and, if fitted for the positions, are given good salaries. As the climate is very trying for whites, and the deadly sleeping sickness still exists, carried by the tsetse fly, the number of Belgians there, from latest accounts, is only one thousand six hundred. This includes over three hundred priests. No men from the larger countries of Europe are wanted in the service of the State, but there are some fifty Swedes, Americans, Swiss and Italians among the officials. The justices of the courts are of mixed nationality, but the most important civil and military positions are kept for Belgians. A large part of Leopold’s revenue from the Congo was expended in beautifying Brussels and doing over both the royal palaces. The Congo Museum, with its fine park and drives, the Colonial School, and the Cinquantenaire Museum, erected to commemorate fifty years of Belgian nationality, with its splendid Arch of Triumph, were all built by this means. Leopold’s long reign came to an end in 1909. His nephew, Prince Baudouin, who should have succeeded him, died suddenly, so, as women do not inherit, the crown descended to Baudouin’s brother Albert. As I have said, Albert’s father was Philip, Comte de Flandre, the younger brother of Leopold, and his mother was Marie-Louise-Alexandrine-Caroline, of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. King Albert was born in his father’s palace in Brussels, on April 8, 1875. He has the best of French and German blood, that of the Orleans and the Saxe-Coburgs. It is said he resembles his grandfather, Leopold I. His sister Albert’s boyhood was spent quietly in study and outdoor life on his father’s estate at Ciergnon. He went through the usual preparation for military service under the supervision of General JungblÜth, then Chief of Staff of the Belgian army. From the moment he became heir to the throne, he set to work to prepare himself for the high position. He studied political economy with M. Waxweiler, a distinguished member of the Liberal party, who was at the head of the Sociological Institute. That he might not be one-sided in his opinions, he became the pupil of two Catholic priests, one a Jesuit of notable courage and fairness, the other a Dominican friar. And, finally, it was from Baron Lambremont, one of the greatest of Belgian diplomats, that he learned the difficult art of dealing with governments. Even before the present war, the King’s mechanical tastes led him to take a deep interest in the problems of engineering construction, of shipbuilding and of aviation. While traveling in this country in 1898, he is said to have studied American railways under the tutelage of Mr. James J. Hill, and ten years later, to have gone to Great Britain incognito in order that he might become familiar with conditions in the shipyards there. Finally, he is known as a skilful and daring chauffeur. In view of this fact, the well known journalist, Major Seaman, shortly returned from Belgium, told me the story was true that King Albert (accompanied only by his chauffeur) when motoring one day from one part of the lines to another, noticed that they were taking the road toward the German trenches. He directed the man to change his course, but soon found they were still going in the wrong direction. After a second order had proved unavailing, the King shot the chauffeur and himself drove the car to his destination, thus defeating an attempt to betray him into the hands of the Teutons. The money given to the traitor by the Germans was found on his body. The Brussels Exposition was held the year after Albert became King. With his usual conscientiousness, Even before the present war, he was known as “The People’s King,” and during this war he has shown himself a man and leader, this hero King, whose name will be honoured through the centuries. Queen Elizabeth, too, has their hearts’ devotion. “Queen Elizabeth is over there with King Albert in the midst of the fighting troops. From town to town, from camp to camp, from trench to trench she goes. She inspires the living, she consoles the dying; she smiles upon them, she binds up their wounds. There she is, so gentle, so pitying, in that Flemish land, that sad Country wrapped in heavy mist, a gray winding sheet softly falling over so many rigid shrouds. Queen errant, but more a Queen than ever has been the consort of the most puissant King, she symbolizes her Country, that Country which is so gashed and wounded, but which will not die. Far from proud cities and sumptuous palaces, she goes to the soldiers fallen beneath the leaden rain, and The Crown Prince, although only thirteen years old, is in the Belgian army. The Queen entered a meek protest against her husband’s taking their son to the front, but he answered, “I have him with me to teach him how serious a thing it is to be a King.” In an interview with Mr. Hall—a journalist whom I met at the Belgian Legation in Washington,—one of the most striking things King Albert said was this: “This war was unavoidable. It had been postponed several times within the last few years, and if it had not been for England’s efforts it would have come at the time of the last Balkan crisis. Germany had been piling on armament for years, had been building up a war machine so perfect and so powerful that at a given time it was bound to start itself. When you have built a monster ship, you cannot continue piling on weight all the time, or the day will come when the vessel will slip off the ways of her own accord. This thing has happened in more than one shipyard. “When the crisis came I had hopes that the Mr. Hall writes: “After the defense of LiÈge King Albert took the field with his army and fought back all the way to Antwerp. He led both the sorties from Antwerp in person, and fought with the rear guard that covered the retreat of his army to the Yser.” The Germans drove the Belgian army from one position to another until only a strip of Belgium was left. “The King continued to fight in the bogs and marshes of western Flanders, still undaunted, still defiant, still calm and serene.” An Englishman asked a Belgian soldier if King Albert was beloved. The answer was, “No, Monsieur, he is not beloved.... Before the war he was beloved—today he is adored.” Emile Verhaeren wrote in King Albert’s book: “At this moment you are the one King in the world whose subjects, without exception, unite in loving and admiring him with all the strength of their soul. This unique fate is “In spite of the immensity of the sorrow surrounding you, I think you have a right to rejoice, the more so as your consort, Her Majesty the Queen, shares this rare privilege with you. “Sire, your name will be great throughout the ages to come. You are in such perfect sympathy with your people that you will always be their symbol. Their courage, their tenacity, their stifled grief, their pride, their future greatness, their immortality all live with you. Our hearts are yours in their very depths. Being yourself, you are all of us. And this you will remain.” |