The Spell of Belgium Part 6

A trying period of fifteen years followed the battle of Waterloo. The Congress of Vienna made Holland and Belgium one kingdom under the name of the United Netherlands. But this ill-advised union failed. The Dutch King, William I, was tyrannical and tactless, and ruled entirely in the interests of Holland. Although the population of Belgium was 1,500,000 more than that of the northern states of the Netherlands, four-fifths of the army officers and by far the larger part of the government officials were Dutch. Belgians were forced to pay the public debt of Holland, and the poorer cla.s.ses, under the weight of intolerable taxes, faced starvation. They had fought too long for freedom to endure subjugation.

Only a little encouragement was needed to spur them on to action.

The throng that was a.s.sembled in the Brussels Theatre de la Monnaie on the evening of the 25th of August, 1830, listened for a time quietly enough to Auber's new opera of "Musette de Portici." But when the Italian tenor in a stirring solo made an appeal to his countrymen to rise against foreign tyranny, the excitement of the audience could not be controlled. Springing to their feet, they caught up the words of the refrain and sang them over and over again. They rushed from the opera house into the street, still singing,

"_A mon pays je dois la vie, Il me devra la liberte!_"

[Ill.u.s.tration: THeaTRE DE LA MONNAIE, BRUSSELS.]

The revolution begun in this dramatic fas.h.i.+on continued until Belgium took its place as a nation among the European powers. The new Const.i.tution 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-Na.s.sau 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 establis.h.i.+ng the kingdom. While still prince, he had married Princess Charlotte, heir to the crown of Great Britain. If she had lived, he would have become Prince Consort of England, but both the Princess and her only child died the following year. After a.s.suming the crown of Belgium, Leopold formed an alliance with France by marrying Emilie Louise, daughter of Louis Philippe.

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 chateau 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, in 1865, began a reign of nearly forty-five years. When only eighteen, he married the Archd.u.c.h.ess Marie Henriette of Austria, a woman of many prejudices and peculiarities, who cared for little but horses and dogs.

She did not approve of tennis; she objected to Wagner. She was an invalid for many years, and it is charitable to suppose that the King's lack of home life was accountable for some of the scandals a.s.sociated with his name.

[Ill.u.s.tration: LEOPOLD I.]

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 Clementine, 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 luck. Stephanie is now the wife of an Austrian Count, and I have heard that during this war she has become a nurse on the Austrian side. Clementine and her husband were living in Brussels at last accounts, and they have two sons. The King prevented this marriage for some years, as he felt it might make complications with Republican France. While we were in Belgium, they very kindly received us.

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 condition. It is said, "He found Brussels a city of brick and left it a city of marble," that "he found a weak kingdom and left a strong one."

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 ca.n.a.l 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 steams.h.i.+p lines were formed. Under his rule the army was strengthened, and if he had been allowed to carry out his plans, the country would have had at least the nucleus of a navy. He had new forts built and the army increased. It was decided that the army was deficient in numbers and in quality. The latter defect was owing to a system of recruiting which allowed any man called to the barracks by the ballot, who did not wish to serve, to find a subst.i.tute, who for a small sum of money, would take his place. The law doing away with subst.i.tutes in the army was one of the last signed by King Leopold before his death.

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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: LEOPOLD II.]

While still Duc de Brabant, Leopold traveled in Morocco and Tunis, and Algeria and Egypt, as well as in China. On his return he presented to the statesmen of Belgium a Grecian stone, on which he had inscribed, "Il faut a la Belgique des Colonies." Ten years later, his dream of colonization began to be realized.

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 wis.h.i.+ng 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 establis.h.i.+ng 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 to them of commerce and modern industry."

The most important result of the Conference was the formation of the International a.s.sociation 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 Ma.r.s.eilles and secured his services to conduct the work of the International a.s.sociation 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 to the commerce of all nations, and the slave trade was prohibited. Ten years later, the extinction of the African slave trade was accomplished.

Baron Dhanis, with a large force of Belgian troops, conquered the Arab traders, and completely broke up their iniquitous traffic.

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 quant.i.ty 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 Congo railway, had lent thirty-five million francs to the State; it had given money and men. Among other things, he emphasized that the commercial question was closely and inseparably linked to the question of the treatment of the natives.

"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 mult.i.tude 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, Albert and the Colonial Minister, M.

Renkin, visited the Congo State, entering it from opposite sides, and reform work was soon inaugurated. Forced labour was suppressed, payments to the natives were made in money, and several zones were opened up to free trade. The African colony pays its own expenses to-day, but it contributes little money to Belgium. King Albert refused to receive an annuity from its revenues, and that money has been used as a pension fund for those who have served well in the Congo.

In the early days many Belgians went to the Congo to escape debt; today, they pa.s.s 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.

Boma, the capital of the Congo State, is now a flouris.h.i.+ng town, with several hundred European houses, a Governor's palace, the Palace of Justice, and other government buildings, both Protestant and Catholic churches, a Red Cross hospital, and a telegraphic service to the interior.

[Ill.u.s.tration: KING ALBERT.]

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 Josephine is the wife of Prince Charles of Hohenzollern, a cousin of the Kaiser, and his other sister, Henriette, married the Duc de Vendome. Prince Charles, who was fair, with a pointed beard, was bright and amusing when we met him; his wife, although very handsome, was a little deaf. The d.u.c.h.esse de Vendome was distinguished looking, tall and blonde, like her brother, and the Duke, although rather short, was most attractive.

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 Jungbluth, 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 Inst.i.tute.

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 s.h.i.+pbuilding 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 s.h.i.+pyards 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, the King not only attended innumerable congresses that were held in Brussels that year, but personally entertained the delegates at the royal palace; and, with all this, he is said to have found time to visit, with the Queen, every exhibit in every section of the Exposition.

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 as she pa.s.ses near them the eyes of the dying are lifted up to her for a last look, a last tear."[3]

[3] Roland de Mares (_Le Temps_).

[Ill.u.s.tration: QUEEN ELIZABETH.]