THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES GIFT ~^ ^ • • e^cu^ ^4 <&^z^ r r\ fT\ INTRODUCTION reposeful and now fragrantly arranged body, were, (worse than desecration,) a confes- sion of ineptitude that Micard is unwilling to make; he therefore takes the bowl with its marvellous contents, and unobserved, we hope, bears the object away with him. Once in the streets, he seeks a method for disposal, and finds it, by, to our mind, the most eloquent of coincidences, in the very sewer-opening through which the body of Robespierre, (when that bloody peak of the Mountain fell,) had been consigned to hid- den waters. It is an episode which Victor Hugo, not without some errors in the re- countal, has related, and which, in its pre- sent presentation, is vouched for by friends of Micard to whom, in later days, he nar- rated the affair. To such strange doom was destined the crafty brain which had, to a notable extent, shaped the careers of dynasties and the histories of nations, and, iv INTRODUCTION towards the end of its labors, had conceived the idea of the inviolability and permanent neutrality of Belgium, maintained by the guarantees of England, Prussia, Austria, Russia and France. The circtmistances in the Netherlands culminating in the establishment of this new Belgium, form the subject matter of the memoirs that the Comte de Mercy Argenteau has entitled The Events of i8jo; and this (hitherto unpublished) manu- script of the Grand Chamberlain of King William I is perhaps the most authentic and intimate docviment explaining the schism that took place in the Netherlands immediately after its neighbor France had, (maintaining its tradition as European leader in political liberalism,) swept away that most reactionary of Bourbon kings, Charles X. In pondering the many inter- views which Mercy Argenteau had with the INTRODUCTION King of the Netherlands in the hope of affecting the intolerant policy of that stub- born scion of the House of Orange, we are brought to the interesting conjecture as to whether, had the Coiint's advice been followed, the great world war of to-day would not have assumed another aspect. A more enlightened attitude towards his joint kingdom would have rendered unneces- sary William's final reluctant compliance with the arrangements arrived at in the Conference of London, and there might have been no treaty regarding Belgium's independence, no "scrap of paper," whose violation by one of its signatories has chal- lenged the moral judgment of mankind. It may be recalled that after the entrance of the Allies into Paris had ended the Napo- leonic Empire, (for The Himdred Days were inevitably the futile flame of a dying fire — the brilliant afterthought of a great author vi c INTRODUCTION whose tale is ended,) Napoleon's former Minister returned to his native land, then no longer a part of the French Empire. The Congress of Vienna had created the new Kingdom of the Netherlands, wherein Holland and the ancient Austrian province of Belgium were placed under the rule of the Dutch Prince, now bearing the title of King William I. The fifteen years which were to pass by before France again dis- turbed Europe through her demands for her truest heritage from the Revolution, were years in which the policies of the Austrian Chancellor, Prince Mettemich, sought to compress the continent within the narrow moulds of "legitimate" rule. The conservative reaction that seized upon Europe after the overthrow of Napoleon, had, for a while, resulted in a condition of political stagnation, and liberal ideas were looked upon with hostility by the group of vii INTRODUCTION monarchs of whom Metternich was the spokesman. Gradually, however, the il- liberality of the Bourbons on the thrones of Spain, Italy and France, and of other "legitimate" rulers over the Russian, Aus- trian and Turkish empires, brought on insurrections. Revolts in Spain, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Poland gave evidence that growth of people demanding a voice in their own government could not be for- ever constrained within moulds shaped along the hard and ungracious lines of dynastic tyranny. The formula of Met- ternich was outlasting its usefulness; and when Canning, as Prime Minister of Eng- land, refused to coimtenance the policies of the Holy Alliance, and our own President Monroe laid down, in contravention to the authority of the Spanish Bourbons, the dictum that has assured the independence of South American states from European Vlll INTRODUCTION rule, it became clear to all, except royal eyes congenitally blind, that the spirit of nationalism and of popular self-government was escaping effectively from the gilded cords whereby the Congress of Vienna had sought to bind it. In this record of liberalizing movements, the Paris Revolution of July, 1830, has a most important place. Similar attempts in other coimtries during the preceding fifteen years had proved, mainly because of the strong hand of Austria, abortive; the Paris Revolution was the first to result, (and with comparatively little bloodshed,) in ponderable success. Its general influ- ence on the rest of Europe was indirect; but at least in the case of Belgium it may be regarded as immediate. France discarded the successor of Louis XVIII, because Charles X, during the six years of his reign, had, in his exercise of INTRODUCTION censorship, his dissolution of the National Guard, his appointment of the abominated Minister Polignac, so violated the rights and feelings of his people that the Ordi- nances immediately preceding the Revolu- tion of July, decreeing the suppression of the Press, the dissolution of the Chamber, and a radical change in the manner of election, were merely the final drops that brought the bitter cup to an overflowing. The injustices of King William of the Nether- lands were less grievous than those of Charles X, but involved a similar mental obliquity and similar stubborn adherence to royal prerogatives. In a way, the prob- lem of the Dutch King was more compli- cated: as ruler over a newly constituted kingdom, he did not have such strong reason to study, in its immediate personal application, the lessons which the fate of the earlier Bourbons should have taught INTRODUCTION Charles X. Yet William I was reigning not over one people like that of France, but over two peoples, distinct in their reli- gions, their languages, and their activities. Holland was a Protestant nation, its pros- perity founded on commerce ; Belgium was a Catholic nation, whose welfare was de- rived largely from agriculture and minmg. The Northern people of the new Kingdom of the Netherlands spoke the Dutch lan- guage, while the Southern provinces used, for the most part, the tongue of their neigh- bor, France. The situation thus called for a monarch of liberal and elastic ideas, of a wise and conciliatory temper. As Governor of South Brabant, during the years immediately succeeding the Con- gress of Vienna, Mercy Argenteau lost no time in endeavoring to instruct the King how ill-advised was the decree that sought to make the use of the Dutch language oblig- XI INTRODUCTION atory in the Belgic provinces; and as early as 1818, the Count risked the monarch's displeasure in placing, unasked, in the hands | of the King, a monograph showing that in imposing a foreign language upon any sec- tion of his people, William I was following a policy opposed to that of a long line of monarchs. William's reluctance to accept the ideas of the Governor of South Brabant, finally led Mercy Argenteau to resign this office, but he was prevailed upon to con- tinue his court post of Grand Chamberlain, and it is in this capacity that he sought, (prior to, and during the difficult days of 1830,) to guide the King's opinions into broader channels. The difficulties which beset the Government first became thor- oughly accentuated in 1825, when laws (regarding public instruction) were passed in violent opposition to public opinion in the Catholic provinces of the South. Not xii INTRODUCTION alone were private ecclesiastic establish- ments closed, but the King went to the absurd length of decreeing that no public office should be held by any young men who had pursued their studies in a foreign coun- try. The very excess of these measures led the King finally to reconsider them, and he signed decrees rendering optional the use of the Dutch language and attend- ance at the College of Philosophy, the institution which he had founded in op- posing Catholic education. But the pub- lication of these decrees he continually delayed; and the more strenuously his Belgian subjects demanded them, the more stubbornly he kept them locked in hia desk. Such, then, was the situation at the end of 1829: a people demanding freedom in many directions, and a King hesitant to accord important rights, lest any but minor XIU INTRODUCTION concessions might be regarded as un-royal yielding to popular clamor. Mercy Argenteau has included in an Appendix to his Memoirs two documents which should be consulted in the Appendix of the present volume. The Royal Message of December nth, 1829, gives suggestive indication of the irritating problems that were soon to find their solution in civil war, and displays, also, the indetermined and vacillating attitude of the Government. The freedom of the press is praised in prin- ciple, but attacked in practice; reference is made to the Concordat with the Pope that shall settle the difficult question of the appointments of Roman Catholic bishops, and of Catholic instruction, but the King speaks in a threatening tone of "exaggerated religious zeal," and we have but to refer to Mercy Argenteau's personal interview, a few weeks earlier, with Pius VIII, to xiv INTRODUCTION realize how little the King's Catholic sub- jects in the Southern provinces had to hope from the long negotiations between the Netherlands Government and the Holy See. In all governmental departments the Pro- testant element was preponderant. Several reforms we do, however, note in the Royal Message. Commimal and pro- vincial authority is given wider scope, and the principle of the non-removability of judges is assured. But the crucial demand for ministerial responsibility to the two Chambers that form the States-General is dismissed in a cloud of verbiage, which, despite its conciliatory phraseology, still leaves clear the King's determination to exercise in person the final authority in national legislation. The second document is the Circular Letter, sent by the Minister of Justice, Van Maanen, to all the officers of the law, XV INTRODUCTION as an accompaniment of the Royal Message. The tenor of this missive is the best proof of Mercy Argenteau's wisdom in advising the King, after the Royal Message had failed to qmet civic disturbances, of the necessity of Van Maanen's removal from ofhce. Various other complexities of the situa- tion, such as the contradictory absence of ministerial responsibility to the Chambers, coupled with the lack of constitutional authority of the King to dissolve the Cham- bers, made matters increasingly difficult, and Mercy Argenteau was entirely logical in writing to the King, during the early months of 1830, that ''the royal power must either bend before the superlative power of the opposition, or the royal power will be able to extricate itself only by a very dan- gerous method — that which is called coup It was a copy of this letter that Mercy xvi INTRODUCTION Argenteau, soon thereafter, showed to Gen- eral Fagel, the Minister of the Netherlands at the Court of Charles X. Fagel agrees with the King's Grand Chamberlain that William's stubbornness and indecision are to be deplored, and trusts that the frank- ness of Mercy Argenteau may lead the Dutch King to immediate reforms in his Government. There were in the diplomatic service at Paris at this time, two other men to whom Mercy Argenteau pays special tribute; one of these was the Prussian Minister, Baron Werther, and the other, the Russian Am- bassador, Pozzo di Borgo, whose signature we shall later see appended to the now un- forgettable treaty in which, at London in 1839, the inviolable neutrality of Belgium was guaranteed by the five Great Powers of Europe. Both the Russian and Prussian Ministers Plenipotentiary thoroughly un- xvii INTRODUCTION derstood the trend of events, but it was Pozzo di Borgo whose vision went deepest and furthest of all the foreign diplomats accredited to the Court of Charles X. Almost ten years had elapsed since Mercy Argent eau's old master, the great Napo- leon, had died; and if Mercy Argenteau had ever born ill-will towards Pozzo di Borgo for his long enmity against Napoleon, it was an ill-will now relegated to the irre- trievable past. Carlo Andrea Pozzo di Borgo had been born in Corsica in 1868, and was in youth the friend of the yoimg Bonaparte, his junior by but a year. When, however, as Corsican representative in the French National Assembly of 1791- 1792, Pozzo acted in opposition to the poli- cies favored by Bonaparte, and continued in his espousal of the cause of the Corsican patriot, Paoli, the rift widened between him and the Bonapartes, until, in 1798, it xviii INTRODUCTION was Pozzo who used all his endeavors to effect the first alliance of Austria and Russia against France. To Pozzo, also, (whose extradition Napoleon demanded in vain from Emperor Francis, in 1809,) was due the advice which led Emperor Alexander into the Russian War of 18 12, so fatal to Napoleon ; and the downfall of the Corsican Emperor finally and inevitably followed the oft-quoted declaration of his boyhood friend, the Corsican diplomatist, that "the Allies made war not on France, but on Napoleon." What a familiar ring these words have for us, when we recall the phrase of the President of the United States con- cerning a war not against the German people, but its Government! During the remainder of his life, Pozzo di Borgo played an important part in several events of high international significance; and how quick was his insight, how keen xix INTRODUCTION his foresight, is shown by his statement to Mercy Argenteau, after the Grand Cham- berlain of King WilHam of the Nether- lands had his remarkable interview with Charles X. This interview was readily obtainable, not alone because of the courteous relation- ship which existed between the King and the Count, but also because the King cherished warm regard for the memory of that Comte de Mercy Argenteau who had been the guardian of Marie Antoinette. Yet the startling candor with which Charles X conducted his conversation with the Bel- gian diplomat was far beyond the expecta- tions of his auditor. The French monarch begins with congratulating Mercy Argen- teau because ' ' your King has at last become a King" ; referring in this statement to Wil- liam's declaration of December nth, 1829,' ^ See Appendix XX INTRODUCTION that he alone had the right to interpret the constitution. — "Royalty," said the Bour- bon King, ' ' is menaced ever3rwhere and on all sides. . . . What you call charter and constitution are not in accord with royal power, which is one by itself, and must remain so for the safety of society which, without it, were condemned to perish. . . . We must free ourselves from this situation at any cost." With these words, (and we must remem- ber that the fateful month of July was still many weeks away,) the last of the elder line of Bourbons had practically disclosed to Mercy Argenteau his intention to effect a coup d'etat; and the astonished and per- turbed Count, well realizing what such an eventuality would mean for his own land, hastens to discuss the situation with Pozzo di Borgo, "the soul of the foreign diplomatic corps at Paris." XXI INTRODUCTION "What," cries the Russian Ambassador, on hearing the pregnant tidings; "did the King say this to you? ... He has never said anything like it to anyone before ! . . . He will carry out this coup d'etat, and in so doing, he will destroy himself. ... Be assured, the Bourbons are doomed!" The last word of advice that Mercy Argenteau received from Pozzo di Borgo was to urge the King of the Netherlands to abandon the dangerous road of royal tyr- anny and to put a stop to the discontent of his subjects. Armed with the coinciding opinions of the Austrian and Prussian Ministers at Paris, and with the new and unprecedented information so startlingly obtained from the King of France, Mercy Argenteau hurries to Brussels where he has a fearless interview with King William. But that monarch is hard to move, and stubbornly adheres to xxii INTRODUCTION the position that the Great Powers which, (at the Congress of Vienna,) constituted his Kingdom, will not allow any rupture of the Netherlands. — But the political philo- sophy of Metternich was losing its vitality, and the Conference of London was soon to prove to King William that not the most legitimate of Kings could much longer flout the constitutional rights of his subjects. Although it took almost nine years before the final arrangements solved all the diffi- culties between Holland and Belgium, the Great Powers whose representatives met in 1830 at London immediately recognized the acts that had taken place in the Nether- lands, allowing the Southern provinces to constitute themselves into the separate State of Belgium. The many events that Mercy Argenteau recoimts between his interview in March, with Charles X, and the accession of Leo- xxiii INTRODUCTION pold as first King of the Belgians, throw vivid side-lights on the struggle which finally overthrew the authority of King William. Among the graphic scenes of 1830 that Mercy Argenteau pictures is one which took place at the Chateau de Rambouillet, when the Duchesse de Berry, the daughter-in-law of Charles X, first heard the news of the Revolution in Paris. Herself the daughter of a King, she, with royal courage, was eager to mount her horse, and, her son in her arms, to address the National Guard in the wish to place herself at their head and suppress the uprising. Another scene in its way fully as significant, had taken place at the race- course at Brussels, where the Prince of Orange welcomed as glorious news the tid- ings of the French King's coup d'etat; but Mercy Argenteau, "absorbed in sad pre- sentiments," could not join in the Prince's elation. xxiv INTRODUCTION The accession of Louis Philippe of the House of Orleans, the younger branch of the Bourbons, offered opportunities to King William of which that headstrong monarch failed to take advantage. While, following the lead of the Great Powers, the Nether- lands recognized without delay the new *' Citizen-King," WilHam did little to satisfy the demands of his subjects whose spirit of independence had received a great impetus through the events of July in France. The King of the Netherlands continued his policy of procrastination and half-way measures. Whereupon the disturbances in his Southern provinces swiftly increased, and it soon became manifest that there must be either administrative separation between the two great parts of his Kingdom, or civil war. Mercy Argenteau's advice to grant the Belgian provinces legislative independence, might even then have been XXV INTRODUCTION followed, with William remaining as the constitutional King of the two nations; but, "lacking the statesman's insight, and a stranger to all questions involved in statesmanship, and, above all, unable to understand the spirit of the time. King William was to remain the pawn of events." The contradictory courses pursued by the Prince of Orange and his father only made matters worse, and every step that was taken, every concession that was granted, was either unintelligent or too late; and there were to be evil days for the Dutch and the Belgians before the Conference of London perhaps saved Europe from general war, in supporting Prince Leopold of Saxe- Coburg as the ruler over those disturbed provinces in whose affairs Mercy Argen- teau had played so enlightened a part. Before concluding these introductory notes, it were perhaps well to follow in swift xxvi INTRODUCTION chronological review the steps which ended at the throne of a new Belgium. The Royal Message of December ii*^, 1829, led to increased opposition, violently evinced by the Belgian newspapers during January and February, 1 830. The editors De Potter and Tielemans were sent into exile. After the coronation on the 7th of August of Louis Philippe, the excitement increased, and on the 25*^, the Brussels mob set fire to the house of the hated Minister Van Maanen. On the 26*^ there was blood shed in the streets; on the 29*^ a deputa- tion went to make demands of the King, who received them a few days later, and refused to dismiss his Minister. On that same day, however, the Prince of Orange went to Brussels and issued a friendly but ineffectual proclamation. A few weeks later his brother. Prince Frederick, ap- proached Brussels at the head of his troops. xxvii INTRODUCTION Fighting took place between the Dutch and the Belgians, and, at the end of three days, the troops withdrew. The dead and wounded numbered between four and five thousand. A week later, (October 4'^) the Provisional Government at Brussels de- termined to constitute the Belgian Provinces into a separate State. King William ap- pealed to Austria, Russia, Prussia and England for troops, but France objected in a menacing way. Talleyrand then began to pull the wires, and on November 4*^, the Conference of London had its initial meeting. Towards the end of that month the Dutch attack on Antwerp utterly alienated the Belgians from the House of Orange, and ended the chances of the Prince Royal, (who had previously made advances to the Provisional Government,) of becom- ing the King of the Belgians, although the London Conference continued to advocate XXVUl INTRODUCTION his candidacy. Various other princes were suggested (Louis Philippe declining the crown for his son, the Due de Nemours) ; until finally, on June 4, 183 1, Prince Leo- pold of Saxe-Coburg was chosen by the Belgians. If we would have extended information concerning many of the episodes at the London Conferences during 1 830-1 839, con- cluding with the treaties signed and ratified by Holland, Belgium, the five Great Powers and the Confederation of the Rhine, we can, with interesting results, turn to the memoirs of Prince Talleyrand, (sometime Grand Chamberlain of Napoleon,) who had given Mercy Argenteau his earliest instruc- tions when the young Count entered into the services of the Emperor of the French. There, we can learn of the cogent reasons why France and Prussia, Austria, England and Russia, saw the vital necessity of main- xxix INTRODUCTION taining order in the Low Countries. While to-day we think of the territory between France and Prussia as a barrier between German mihtarism and French unaggres- siveness, Belgium, in 1830 was considered by the Powers as a barrier of quite another kind. Men's minds still held in fresh memory the disturbing ambitions of Na- poleonic France, and when Prussia signed the treaty that had as one of its main purposes the permanent neutrality and inviolability of Belgium, the Prussian King regarded this agreement as an act of peace for all Europe, but most immediately so for his own territories; while Louis Philippe gladly assented to an arrangement allaying whatever fears or suspicions might still have lurked in the minds of his fellow monarchs, regarding France's desire to annex Belgium. Strange, how far differently events have XXX NOTICE HISTORIQUE .,d^i^ C^ ^€^'e^^^e^rrL^^v ^/j^^^^ I 5 6 O INTRODUCTION taken their course! The armies of Ger- many, not of France, hold to-day the Bel- gian land. The pledge that she gave in 1839, Prussia, in 1914, with ruthless hand brushed aside; and now the world is strug- gling in the net of universal war. When it will end, who shall say? But this at least, we shall not doubt : never until the land for whose liberties Mercy Argenteau pleaded so earnestly comes again into its own. George S. Hellman. Upper Saranac, September, 191 7. XXXI CONTENTS PAGE Introduction ...... . iii CHAPTER I. — Mercy Argenteau receives the Order of the Grand Cross of the Netherlands — His letter to the Comte de Reede, the Grand Marshal — His Memorandum written when Governor of Brabant — The policies of Charles V., Philip II., Maria Theresa, Napoleon, and Louis XIV., in regard to the imposition of a foreign tongue on any portion of their peoples. I II. — Mercy Argenteau resigns his office as Governor, because the Dutch language is made obliga- tory on the Belgians — He foresees political difficulties ...... 5 III. — The Papal Internuncio, Cappacini — The un- constitutional and unrepresentative system of the Government of King William — Mercy Argenteau' s comments on the part that the Netherlands might have assumed under an enlightened monarch — A journey through ice and snow ...... 7 IV. — The King prevails upon Mercy Argenteau to retain his post of Grajid Chamberlain — The Coutit refuses to become a member of the First Chamber of the States-General, as he would prefer to advise the King in private. . 13 V. — The Count's discussion with the King regarding the situation in the Southern provinces — The mistaken steps of the Government for the past xxxiii CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE five years, since 1825 — The College of Philo- sophy — The decree aimed against foreign education of the youth of the Netherlands — The growing spirit of opposition in the two Chambers of the States-General . , 18 VI. — Mercy Argenteau's conversation with Pope Pius VIII — The Pope's criticisms of the King's course — Nominations of Bishops . 26 VII. — The King signs the decrees rendering optional the use of Dutch, and attendance at the College of Philosophy, but keeps these decrees locked in his desk — The remonstrances of Mercy Argenteau ...... 33 VIII. — The approach of the Revolution of July in Paris — Mercy Argenteau is appointed Presi- dent of the Commission at the Brussels Exposi- tion — His report to the King concerning affairs in the Belgian provinces, and his strongly worded recommendation for radical concessions ...... 36 IX. — Mercy Argenteau at Paris — Baron Fagel, Minister from the Netherlands — Pozzo di Borgo, the Russian Ambassador — Baron de Werther, the Prussian Minister. . . 43 X. — References to Comte Florimond de Mercy Ar- genteau as the guardian of Marie Antoinette — Mercy Argenteau' s interview with Charles X. at the Tuileries — The excitement and candor of the King of France — His revelation of his intention to effect a coup d'etat. . 46 XI, — Mercy Argenteau's interview with Pozzo di Borgo — The Russian Ambassador's con- sternation at the words of Charles X — xxxiv CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE Mercy Argenteau the first diplomat so taken into the King's confidence — Pozzo di Borgo prophecies the downfall of the Bourbons — Mercy Argenteau returns to Brussels — His interview with King William, to whom he relates his interoiew with Charles X and the Russiati and Prussian Envoys at Paris — Mercy Argenteau urges decided and immedi- ate reforms and the dismissal of Van Maanen, Minister of Justice — The King fails to under- stand the situation; he believes even if the Bourbons should fall, and the Southern provinces of the Netherlands be invaded, his Kingdom of the Netherlands will be ftdly protected by the Treaty of i8i^ — Mercy Ar- genteau realizes that the relations of Austria, Prussia, and England towards King William might not lead them to interfere with an independent Belgium • ■ • • 55 XII. — The Conference at London in iSjo — Its re- cognition of the Southern provinces, which are permitted to constitute themselves into a separate state — The King leaves for The Hague, while Mercy Argenteau remains to preside over the Brussels exposition. . . 74 XIII. — Charles X. signs the famous Ordinances — The Revolution in Paris — The Duchess de Berry wishes to head the Natio7ial Guard — Scene at the race-course at Brussels where the Prince of Orange learns of the French King's coup d'etat ...... 77 XIV, — Louis Philippe ascends the throne of France — He is recognized by the Great Powers — Prince Talleyrand, Minister of Foreign Affairs — King William fails to take advan- XXXV CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE tage of the opportunity offered by the Paris RevoliUion of July — The Prince of Orange returns to The Hague . . . .87 XV. — The alliance between France and England — The interests of France in Belgium — The correspondence between Louis Philippe and King William I. — Mercy Argenteau's con- versations with the King at Brussels — The King insists on leaving for The Hague . 92 XVI. — The uprisings in Brussels — The destruction of the house of the Minister of Justice Van Maanen — The riots on the 24th of August, the anniversary of the King's birthday — The Count hastens to his home at Argenteau — His conversations with the Governor Sandherg, at Liege — The King's son. Prince Frederick, commands the troops near Antwerp . . 103 XVII. — The opening session of the States-General at The Hague — The marriage of the Princess Marianne to Prince Albert of Prussia — Mercy A rgenteau goes to the home of Baron Fagel at The Hague . . . . 1 10 XVIII. — The Provisional Government at Brussels — Spread of the revolutionary movement — The Conference at London — The King invites Mercy Argenteau to a private interview . 117 XIX. — Mercy Argenteau informs the King fully of affairs at Brussels — Neither the King nor Prince Frederick had known of the happen- ings there — The Count urges immediate administrative separation between Holland and Belgium — He advises King William to address a conciliatory proclamation to the citizens of Brussels .... 122 x.xxvi CONTENTS CHAPTER PACE XX. — Mercy Argenteau reads to the King his draft of a proclamation such as he would wish to have made — King William is willing to express li conciliatory sentiments but will not commit himself on the main point of separate ad- ministration — The discussion of the strength of the King's army — The Count offers to go to Brussels as the King's emissary. . ■ I33 XXI. — Mercy Argenteau urges the King not to allow either of his sons to lead the attack against Brussels— The King decides that his second son, Prince Frederick, shall do so — Continued irresolution and illusion on the part of King William — The Belgian revolutionaries estab- lish their government through acts of their Provisional Congress . . • -145 XXII. — Mercy Argenteau is unable to convince the King and leaves The Hague — His estimate of the character of William I. — The Count's interview with the Prince of Orange — The Prince's comment concerning the King . 151 XXIIL— r^e King prepares for the attack on Brussels- Prince Frederick and General Chasse — Civil war at Brussels— The Prince of Orange at Antwerp — The members of the King's minis- try — The uselessness of the Prince of Orange's mission at Antwerp — The Prince's letter to Mercy Argenteau — Suspicion regarding the activities of the Count— His letter to the Prince — The question of the Prince's election as King of Belgium— The relations between the King and his son— The Prince of Oratige leaves for England and is stripped of all his titles by the King. . . ■ ■ -155 xxxvii CONTENTS CHAPTER p^jjj. XXIV. — Activities of the Conference at London — Conver- sations of Prince Talleyrand with the Prince of Orange — King William resists the recogni- tion of Belgium by the Lojtdon Conference — Talleyrand's policy directed towards the neutrality and inviolability of Belgium — Connection between the revolution in Belgium and the revolution in France — The Duke of Wellington — The memoirs of Count Van der Duyn 167 XXV. — The eighteen articles of the Conference at London — Kiiig William refuses to recognize them — The King's negligence of the arts and his interest in commerce and finance — The views of the Prince of Orange — The Prince's character and manners, and his courage at the Battle of Waterloo . . . . .181 XXVI. — Mercy Argenteau's visit to King William in 1835 — His later and final meeting with the King — King William at last agrees to recog- nize the Kingdom of Belgium — Mercy Argen- teau thereupon resigns his office as Grand Chamberlain to the Dutch King — Cordial farewell between the King a7id the Count — Mercy Argenteau's views of the benefits con- ferred by King William on the Netherlatids — Prince Leopold of Saxe Coburg, King of the Belgians — His wisdom and ability — The debt of Belgium to King Leopold . . 187 APPENDIX— i?o>'a/ Message of William I . . 197 Circular Letter of Minister Van Maanen . 209 XXXVUl ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE Le Comte Florimond de Mercy Argenteau Frontispiece From the miniature by Vestier. Talleyrand ........ vi Line, engraved by Thomson, painted by F.Gerard. Facsimile of Titlepage of the Mercy Argenteau Manuscript xxx King William I of the Netherlands ... 20 Line engraving. From the "Collection Aleyer." Alexander OF Russia 54 Stipple, engraved by Bourgeois de la Richardiere, painted by Auguste Desnoyers. Louis Philippe ....... 88 Line, engraved by Auguste Bridoux, painted by Winterhalter Facsimile of a Portion of Napoleon's own Map of THE Netherlands ...... 122 The Prince cf Orange . . . . . .160 Mezzotint, engraved by Charles Turner, painted by J. S. Copley. The Duke OF Wellington 172 Mezzotint, engraved by Charles Turner, painted by Bauzet. xxxix ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE Louis XVIII i8o Stipple, engraved and painted by Benoist King Leopold I ...••• • I94 Line, engraved by Gustave Levy, painted by Winterhalter. The portraits of Alexander of Russia, the Prince of Orange, the Duke of Wellington, and Louis XVIII are from engravings in the notable collection of Napoleona belonging to Mr. Sidney G. Reilly, to whom the Editor takes pleasure in making acknow- ledgment for his courtesy. He would also thank Mr. Edmond Bonaveniure for the portrait of Louis Philippe. The other engravings and the miniature by Vestier are from the Editor's own collection. ^ S^2e^Us a/ if 830 The Events of 1830 It is my desire to relate my recollections of the events which took place in 1830, in the Southern provinces of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, established in 18 15; and of the circumstances which contributed most to bringing about those events; and this, by co-ordinating notes that I wrote at different periods, and by recalling the seri- ous talks I was privileged to have had, on particular occasions, with King William I. But, first of all, in order to have a just idea of the state of the public mind and the conditions of affairs at Brussels in 1830, I must go further back with my narrative. THE EVENTS OF 1830 I had, but a short time before, towards the end of September, 1829, returned from a sojourn of some three years in Italy. The King, wishing to give me a proof of his esteem and good-will, had, in the latter part of December of that year, bestowed upon me the Grand Cross of his Order of the Lion of the Netherlands. I was staying alone at the Chateau de Vierset, busy in arranging my affairs, while the members of my family were establishing themselves at Paris, where they were going to pass the winter. Prevented by the heavy snows in the roads from reaching The Hague, I wrote to the Grand Marshal, Comte de Reede, asking him to be so kind as to apprize the King of my gratitude; and, in this letter, (which I knew would be seen by His Majesty,) I was careful to insert the following phrase: "This high favor, which the King THE EVENTS OF 1830 is pleased to grant me, is all the more pre- cious to me, in that I like to regard it as a proof of the justice with which His Majesty is graciously willing to regard my opinions." For several years we had not always agreed on meastires that the King deemed necessary to adopt, under pretext of con- ciliating the discontented factions in the Southern provinces. These measures had to do with laws regarding animals; the use of the Dutch language in all public decrees; the establishment of a College of Philo- sophy, patterned on the principles of the General Seminary foimded by Emperor Joseph II; etc. When I was Governor of Brabant, I had even been so bold as to take upon myself the task of sending the King a Memorandimi on the occasion of the decree rendering the usage of the Dutch language obligatory in the Southern pro- vinces. I sought to show him that neither 3 THE EVENTS OF 1830 Charles the Fifth, nor Philip II, nor Maria Theresa had ever thought of attempting anything similar; that Charles the Fifth's act of abdication had been read aloud in French, in the Grand Hall of the City Hall at Brussels; that all correspondence under Philip II had been written in French; that the judgments which had condemned to death the Prince of Orange, and the Comtes d'Egmont and de Home had been rendered in French; that Maria Theresa had estab- lished a Chair of French at the University of Lou vain; that the administrative corre- spondence under the Austrian government had always been in French ; and that Napo- leon himself, and likewise that Louis XIV, had never demanded that the Alsatians should give up the German language in their public and judiciary acts. 4 II I HAD not pleased the King, in putting into his hands, in 1818, a work for which I had not been asked; and the usage of the Dutch language was made obligatory in all public acts. A little later I begged the King to permit me to resign my office as Governor His Majesty wished to nominate me for membership in the First Chamber of the States-General, but I was not of requisite age. He substituted for this appointment that of State Councillor in Ordinary Ser- vice. I did not accept this, expressing my desire to confine myself, thenceforth, to my post as Grand Chamberlain, if that were agreeable to the King; but I did not delay offering my resignation from my 5 I THE EVENTS OF 1830 position at Court, when I saw that the King was persisting in following a wrong course wherein, from my point of view, he was becoming more and more involved; and as I was confident that the first important political event in Europe would directly affect him. His consideration towards me increased despite my opposition to his ideas; and when, at the beginning of 1830, I went to The Hague to thank him for the Grand Ribbon of the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands (which I had just received), the King said to me, reverting to the phrase that I have just quoted from my letter: "Yes, Monsieur le Comte, you can and you ought to regard this decoration, which I am delighted to see you wearing, as a proof of the justice with which I regard your opinions." Ill I SET out for The Hague, snow and the frozen rivers notwithstanding; and, at Brus- sels, chance brought me together with the Internuncio, Monseigneur Cappacini, bound for the same destination. We continued our journey together, in the coupe of a dili- gence, reserved for us two. This service had been organized for those periods when the rivers, closed by ice, rendered crossing in coaches impossible. Diligences were, in these cases, changed at each crossing of the river, thus rendering communication between the two great divisions of the Kingdom very difhciilt. I was happy to have this distinguished prelate as a travelling companion, both because of his affable character, and his 7 THE EVENTS OF 1830 intelligence and great skilfulness in all matters. He had been a pupil of Cardinal Consalvi. A keen and trained observer, he was a man who thoroughly understood the coimtries to which he had been sent — their needs, their instincts, the officers of his own Government (as well as of the Government to which he was accredited). Monseigneur Cappacini had for twelve years performed the functions of Internuncio, alternately at Brussels and The Hague. The particular object of this prelate, being, at that time, to put into execution the articles of the new Concordat recently signed at Rome, (and whose introduction had met with difficulties from the Govern- ment,) Monseigneur Cappacini was the man to conquer these difficulties, if con- quered they could be. But the Govern- ment, I must admit, showed ill-will and was not acting in good faith; so that Pope 8 THE EVENTS OF 1830 Pius VIII complained to me, in a special audience which His Holiness did me the honor to grant, and of which I shall pre- sently speak. Evidently we were approaching a crisis. If the King persevered in the system of government which he had adopted, and which could be defined in no way, (for, speaking properly, it was neither constitu- tional, nor representative, since there was no ministerial responsibility to the Cham- bers; the election to the States-General was procured by the States-Provinces, and through an excess of incoherence, the Con- stitution did not permit the Royal Power to dissolve the Chamber of Deputies, ex- cept under the name of the Second Cham- ber of the States-General) — it was evident, I say, to the eyes of every thinking person, that the first revolutionary movement aris- ing in a neighboring country, would soon 9 THE EVENTS OF 1830 re-act upon our land, overthrowing us who had been unable to fasten our roots into the soil, and who had laid no foundation in a Kingdom of recent formation, composed of two very distinct nationalities, separated as greatly by religion, customs, language and habits, as by the arm of the dividing sea. This does not mean, let us note, that under other governmental and legislative conditions, these two States, reunited, yet separated as far as administration was concerned, could not alone have, imder the same King, existed perfectly well together, but could also have constituted a prosperous and happy entity, endowed with richness •of soil, with industries developed to the highest degree of power, and with enor- mous financial resources, sustained by great trade and wealthy colonies. Yes, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, — 10 THE EVENTS OF 1830 as it had been constituted by the Treaty of Vienna in 1815, — might have been called to play an important part in Europe under a capable and enlightened government; and the central position that it occupies on the map of Europe should, quite naturally, have made it a gage of peace, for all the Great Powers would have been interested in its conservation. While we were wheeling along at night over the rough and deserted road from Antwerp to Breda, Monseigneur Cappacini and I resumed this sad topic of earlier conversations. Day began to dawn as we arrived at the passage over the Moerdyck. We left our diligence there, and crossed on a frail bark, which manoeuvred about be- tween the pieces of ice, so that it took us no less than two hours to make this crossing. On the other side, we awaited another public vehicle which was to take us to the II THE EVENTS OF 1830 passage of the Meuse, in front of Rotterdam. The Meuse, at this point, reaches its great- est width and is called the Wahal. It was still covered with thick ice which we tra- versed on foot ; although not without trouble, and with even some danger, for it had commenced to thaw, and we were the last who were allowed to cross on foot. 12 IV After otir arrival at The Hague, Mon- seigneux Cappacini and I frequently sought each other, and often met. Unfortunately, we had only sad presentiments and grievous thoughts to exchange; and our distressing journey (of a kind unimaginable nowadays) added to our unpleasant forebodings con- cerning the approaching dissolution of these Provinces, which Nature, it would seem, had, in truth, not formed for a life of union. I found the King in quite another mood than that in which, several months earlier, I had left him at Brussels. The truth is, that a revolutionary move- ment seemed to threaten the Southern Pro- vinces, and that there was prevalent there a great discontent, maintained by the peti- 13 THE EVENTS OF 1830 tion on the subject of public instruction. The King seemed willing to enter upon a course of concession and conciliation, but he did not know how to decide upon any- thing. I have said elsewhere that the King, in my opinion, had not always acted with fairness, and that two years earlier I had even been led to resign my post of Grand Chamberlain, a resignation which His Maj- esty was unwilling to accept. Having been called to The Hague at that time, the King, in conferring with me, had gone to the length of saying: "Think this over carefully. If you persist in your resolve to leave me, under these circumstances in which we find our- selves, you are going to place me in the wrong in the opinion of those already very hostile to me at Brussels and in the neigh- boring provinces." This strange avowal made it impossible 14 THE EVENTS OF 1830 for me to insist further; but I profited by the occasion to enlarge on the difficulties that he was creating for himself, unless he changed his system of government. The King then reproached me, because I had reached the age requisite for admis- sion to the First Chamber of the States- General, and yet persisted in my wish not to become a member. I told him that my refusal was due to the fact that as his Government was not a parliamentary one, with ministerial responsibility, I could not, in my position of Grand Officer of his Household, and with my views contrary to his on so many points in connection with the administration, (as he was perfectly well aware) — I could not, I said, accept a post which woiild place me in the position of having to oppose in the name of the King, m the mornings, at the Tribune, a project of law presented by his irresponsible Minis- 15 THE EVENTS OF 1830 ters, and of coming, at evening, to take my place at His Majesty's table, in my capacity of Grand Chamberlain. "In England," I went on to say, "a Grand Officer of the Crown, if the party to which he belongs is no longer in power, resigns from his Court position. Does Your Majesty insist that I should become a member of the First Chamber of the States-General? In that case. Your Majesty will accept my resignation from the post of Grand Chamberlain; and all will be well. I shall then be free to defend my opinions at the Tribune, without fearing personal offence to the King; and Your Majesty knows that, since 1825, our re- spective opinions, as regards the Govern- ment, have never been in accord — so, rather, do not nominate me for membership in the First Chamber, but permit me — as you have often hitherto — to continue to offer 16 THE EVENTS OF 1830 opposition, at times, in your private study, in maintaining my high office of Grand Chamberlain." Whereupon, the King re- plied, "Since you feel this way about it, let us remain as we are." And thus it was to be. 17 V Although I had been at The Hague several days, His Majesty had not yet found opportunity to talk with me about recent events at Brussels, and what was brewing elsewhere. His Majesty was ever obstinately bent on regarding the commo- tion of public spirit at Brussels merely as agitation attributable more or less to ill-will. At last the day was appointed, and I pre- sented myself at an early hour in the King's study where he was awaiting me. After having invited me to be seated at his table, which was loaded with docimients, the King thus began the conversation: "I wish you to tell me clearly and very frankly your opinion of the situation in which we find ourselves, particularly at i8 THE EVENTS OF 1830 Brussels. I wish to rely on what you are going to tell me. Here I find myself tossed about among all parties; in your Southern provinces, it is the Catholics who pretend that their rights are injured and their liberty trampled upon ; here in the Northern provinces, it is something else; and these opinions are always in opposition. I no longer know where I stand, or what I should do." "Sire, you place me in great embarrass- ment. I must return to the origin of the evil, and attack the very principles of your Government ; — those, most particularly, which you have put in practice since 1825. But in order to do this, I have need of great liberty of speech so that I may be able to express my thoughts well; and I fear. Sire, that my phrases may not always be as measured as I should wish them to be. However, you may be assured that I shall 19 THE EVENTS OF 1830 not reach the point of forgetting where I am, and in whose presence I have the honor to speak." "Mon Dieu! don't restrain yourself in the least," answered the King, with a slightly sardonic smile that often played about his lips; " I am not spoiled, I assure you, especially since that time when every kind of accusation was addressed to me in pamphlets and newspapers in opposition to my supposed projects of making the Southern provinces Protestant; and what not besides! Speak, and speak freely; I know you well enough never to doubt your intentions." I had named 1825 as the point of depar- ture in the fatal path upon which the King had entered. From this period dated, first, the founding of the College of Philosophy, and secondly, the law regarding public instruction, both of which acts were op- 20 //fj/ /)/:.s /' /; v -/y /.v, Zfiifiy lit/^/t'af,t o/ ///^> 9lc'///i't^u/ic/j THE EVENTS OF 1830 posed by preponderant opinion in the South- ern provinces, and against which, the clergy, headed especially by Monseigneur Van Bommel, had strenuously protested. Van Bommel, a Dutchman by birth, had just published a remarkable work, entitled The Three Chapters, a work received with the fullest approval by all intelligent men, who desired nothing but liberty in the matter of public instruction. In this respect the work was perfectly in accord with the fundamental law of the land; and many Protestant attaches at the Court — such as the Grand Marshal, Comte de Reede, and Comte Vanderduyn, Grand Master of the Queen's Household, to whose attention I brought this pamphlet, — heartily approved its principles. The King had carried exclusion in the matter of public instruction to such an extent, (and this, with the view of favoring 21 THE EVENTS OF 1830 the State colleges and schools,) that he had relentlessly closed all private ecclesi- astic establishments, even the schools of the Brothers of the Christian Doctrine, which were founded in France and else- where for the purpose of diffusing morals among the people. Not content with these violent and ar- bitrary measures, administered as only the most despotic Government could possibly have done, the King had gone so far as to issue a decree in which he declared that every young man who had pursued his studies in a foreign coimtry was unqualified to exercise any public function in the Netherlands; a measure which, according to the Fundamental Law, was not at all within the Royal Power. I was among those who allowed them- selves completely to disregard this decree. The King knew that my two sons had not 22 THE EVENTS OF 1830 attended any of the governmental schools or colleges; and that they were in Paris at boarding-schools connected with the Uni- versity. He merely chose not to speak to me of this matter. One day, however, addressing one of my friends, attached to the Court of the Prince of Orange, he said: "What would you think. Monsieur, of a man, a Grand Officer of my Household, who allows his children to be educated in a foreign country?" The gentleman, to whom he spoke — a man of spirit and rather caustic — realizing to whom allusion was made, replied to His Majesty: "Oh! the reason would appear to me to be quite simple: — he must probably have realized that the education is better there than elsewhere." I mention this fact to show how far the aberration (to speak plainly) of the King's 23 THE EVENTS OF 1830 mind had spread, in connection with those despotic meastires which served only to alienate thinking men. Not without reason, then, in wishing to show the origin of the causes which had contributed most to lead William I on a path which would without fail bring him to downfall, did I hark back to the year 1825. That year, I repeat, marks the origin of the distrust, the disaffection and the troubles, whence revolution was soon to spring. The spirit of opposition kept on increas- ing in the Second Chamber of the States- General. The decree which rendered the usage of the Dutch tongue obligatory in all public acts was one of the first causes of this discontent. I reminded the King on this occasion, of the work, to which in 1817, when I was Governor of the Province of South Brabant, I had devoted myself in 24 THE EVENTS OF 1830 order to divert him from that fatal measure, a measure which had no precedent in any of the former governments, and which ought absolutely to be revoked. 25 VI The King felt so thoroughly that there was nothing else to be done, that, already several months earlier, he had signed a decree which rendered the usage of the Dutch language optional; and a second decree which similarly made optional, at- tendance at the College of Philosophy, an institution whose form had been so justly condemned, especially from the Catholic point of view. Here is the place to relate a private con- versation that I had the honor to have with Pope Pius VIII, at the time of my depar- ture from Rome, in 1829. His Holiness spoke to me with great moderation and much wisdom concerning the reproaches which he had addressed to the Government 26 THE EVENTS OF 1830 of the King of the Netherlands, not only- regarding the instructions of the Minister of the Interior, in reference to the publica- tion of the Concordat, but, in general, concerning the obstacles imposed upon the exercise of religion, and, in particular, of the system adopted in 1825, regarding the establishment of the College of Philosophy at Louvain, and the matter of public instruction. "Let us speak frankly, Monsieur le Comte," said the Holy Father to me. "Under Maria Theresa the Belgians led a happy life. They enjoyed great privi- leges, which they jealously guarded. Em- peror Joseph n, who succeeded her, was the first to violate these privileges, and in consequence taught the Belgians to employ means of resistance to his wrongful will. ' ' Let us admit that events following the accession of King William I to the throne 27 THE EVENTS OF 1830 of the Netherlands, and particularly those of later years, have been little conducive to bringing harmony among his subjects. Controversy has arisen on the question of the Fundamental Law ; rights are being dis- puted; complaints made; claims advanced. On the other side, there is insistence on not making any concessions. Distrust pervades both parties. . . . Whose is the fault? . . . For the last three years, not an act has been proposed, not a resolution adopted, in the affairs between the Con- cordat and the King of the Netherlands, without my being consulted. My prede- cessor, Leo XII, took my advice; I am conversant with the whole situation; noth- ing is unknown to me ; I continue the work of Leo XII, and — God is my witness — I continue it in good faith. But with what obstacles! No sooner are acts signed than there is a circular of instructions from your 28 THE EVENTS OF 1830 Minister of the Interior, passed from hand to hand, which threatens to destroy all that has been done. For his object is to retard the pubHcation of the agreements of this Concordat; while the King's Ambassador here is commissioned to tell me how happy the King is at this important act which will put an end to the religious dissensions throughout the land. And the fact is that that which was solemnly promised is not carried out. Nevertheless, I am asked to name Bishops. I say: Fulfill your obliga- tions, and I will nominate them. This I do not do. . . . Your King proposes three of his subjects for Bishoprics; they are men weU chosen; I lose no time in naming them as Bishops. . . . Despite that, no pro- gress is made. . . . There we stop; and I still await the fulfillment of agreements contracted for, signed." The Pope then spoke to me of the Prelate 29 THE EVENTS OF 1830 Cappacini, whom he had appointed Inter- nuncio at Brussels and The Hague. The Holy Father spoke very highly of his dis- tinguished talents, his cast of mind, his uprightness of character and his perfect intelligence in handling affairs; Monsieur Cappacini was trained, added the Pope, under the direction of Cardinal Consalvi, who had been, the Holy Father was glad to say, one of his own intimate friends. "Well!" continued His Holiness, in a more animated tone, "Monseigneur Cap- pacini obtains nothing. ... I believed, as did my predecessor, that I could rely on the word of a King, a sacred word which shoiild ever be scrupulously observed. I, in the Chair of S- Peter, am merely the guardian of a trust, and this trust is the Faith, the Doctrine of the Chiu-ch. Intact I must transmit it; I cannot let it be touched." 30 THE EVENTS OF 1830 The Pope then came to speak of the College of Philosophy: — "There may be some good points to this institution," His Holiness said, "but its form, first of all, is bad : it offends our prin- ciples, and therefore, it would be vain to attempt to gain my consent to it. . . . The King has been very ill inspired. There was a better course to follow than the founding of his College of Philosophy on the basis of the General Seminary of Em- peror Joseph II. He could have quite simply come to an understanding with me, the Head of the Church, concerning the establishment of a College for higher eccle- siastical studies, which would have fur- nished a great capacity for usefulness; and thus, together, we could have done a great work." I had only a few objections to suggest to the Holy Father during the course of this 31 THE EVENTS OF 1830 conversation, which it was my duty to report to the King, upon my return, and which contributed somewhat, I beUeve, to his decree by virtue of which attendance at the College of Philosophy became optional. This was tantamoimt to announcing the suppression of his earlier decree. 32 VII I HAVE already said that the King, some two months previously, had signed decrees rendering optional the use of Dutch, and attendance at the College of Philosophy, — thus, in other words, annulling his former acts. I had been informed of this by the Minister of the Interior, Monsr De Lacoste, a wise and enlightened man, who urged me to use all my efforts in influencing the King to publish these decrees which he was still keeping locked up in his desk. Wherefore this resistance to vows so sincerely, so solemnly pronoimced? Why this delay? Why not gratify those wishes, whose expediency the King himself had recognized, inasmuch as he had signed the decrees, and since he no longer had any 3 33 THE EVENTS OF 1830 motive for keeping them as private docu- ments in his desk? Showing him that I was informed of this fact, I begged His Majesty no longer to delay their publication, which would show his willingness to make just concessions after he had recognized them as expedient, and which would revive hopes from other points of view. But his reply was ever the same: "I shall never yield in the face of cir- cumstances while there is any appearance of a demand imposed upon me." This was not the first time that such a reply had been made to me, nor was it the first time that I answered: "Granted, Sire. One shoiild never yield to imperious demands; but the better way to avoid finding oneself in such a situa- tion is to foresee it, before adopting a measure whose issue may be serious." 34 THE EVENTS OF 1830 With the Fundamental Law of the land as their weapon, the people were with full right demanding liberty in public in- struction. 35 VIII We were at the end of February of 1830, the year which was to see the downfall of the Bourbons in France, and the violent separation of Holland from the ancient Belgian provinces which had been annexed in 1815. I was planning to rejoin my family at Paris. Hearing that I was contemplating a stay at Brussels, where, among all classes of society, great disturbance was prevalent owing to the petitions relative to the ques- tion of public instruction, the King asked me to observe events closely, and to report to him directly concerning the state of affairs and public feeling. In our last con- versation at The Hague, I had already opposed his manner of viewing and handling 36 THE EVENTS OF 1830 the subject of this petition, which was only the inherent use of the Hberty which every man has, to express his opinions and to make known his wishes. From this point of view, I expressed my regret at having seen the King adopt severe measures against certain persons of high rank who should have been warned by me, in obedience to the King's commands, and in my position as Grand Chamberlain, to refrain from presenting themselves at Court. In the early part of March, before I left The Hague, the King, through his Minister of the Interior, had informed me of his intention of appointing me President of the Commission at the Exposition of the Products of National Industry, about to be held at Brussels. To this appointment he attached great importance; and I had replied that I was at His Majesty's service. At the moment of my departure, the King 37 THE EVENTS OF 1830 graciously desired to thank me for what His Majesty called the co-operation which I had been kindly willing to grant him in these circumstances. After my arrival at Brussels, I took steps to occupy myself seriously in the important matter of those days — the petition — and to carry out the intentions of the King to the best of my ability. Everyone there was ardently interested in the question of public instruction; I met many people who were in a position to give me the most reliable and exact information; and I was soon entirely convinced of the necessity of ad- vising the King to use means, as soon as possible, of putting a stop to the existing state of affairs, and of calming a disturbance that was steadily increasing. In the special report that I hastened to submit to His Majesty, I tried, as best I could, to picture the situation to the King 38 THE EVENTS OF 1830 in its true colors, without exaggeration, but in such way as to make an impression upon his mind. I was convinced that it was necessary, at all cost, and without further delay, to make notable modifica- tions in the existing system of Government. I wished, first of all, to go to the very bottom of things, and, above all, to force into the King's mind the idea that a useful reform, to be successfully carried out, would have to be radical ; that half-way measures would serve no purpose, partial concessions would appease no one, and woxild hardly soothe the agitation; on the contrary, they would but serve to encourage new demands. I therefore asked the immediate withdrawal of the law concerning public instruction, as the only means of putting an immediate stop to the petition; and the publication forthwith of the royal decree, granting the option of using the French language in 39 THE EVENTS OF 1830 public acts, as a just satisfaction of the pressing demands of the Southern provinces, so considerable a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Then frankly approach- ing considerations of another order, I tried to show the necessity of establishing what would constitute really a representative Government, — ministerial responsibility to the Chambers. Such ministerial respon- sibility, in all acts of Government, would be the only means of protecting Royalty in times of trouble. I begged the King to note that the omis- sion in the Constitution of the right to dissolve the Legislative Chambers (a right which should always be inherent in royal power) was a regrettable lack, placing Royalty in permanent and imminent danger ; and I gave the following as a striking ex- ample: the right to elect members of the Second Chamber of the States-General 40 THE EVENTS OF 1830 belonged to the States- Provinces that were elected by those who had paid taxes which qualified them to vote. "Your Majesty surely knows," I added, "that in the Southern provinces the spirit of opposition is gaining ground each year, and, as a consequence, dominates the elec- tion of deputies to the Second Chamber of the States-General. As the elections to the States- Provinces are similarly made, it is easy to see, how before long, the day is coming when the forces of opposition in the States-Provinces will pass over into the rank of the Second Chamber of the States- General; and as the King has not the power to dissolve the Legislative Cham- bers, one asks: What will happen? — One of two things, whose consequences will be inevitable: The royal power must either bend before the superlative power of the opposition, (and this will be the triumph of 41 THE EVENTS OF 1830 radicalism, if we follow the down-hill path) ; — or the royal power will be able to extricate itself only by a very dangerous method — that which is called a coup d'etat.'' 42 IX As soon as my letter was despatched I set out for Paris. I had kept a copy of it, and this I hastened to bring to the atten- tion of General Robert Fagel, Envoy Extra- ordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the King of the Netherlands. He thanked me for it. General Baron Fagel, my old friend, was a man of spirit, wise, capable, impartial and deeply devoted to King Wil- liam I, whose mistakes, however, he de- plored. He thanked me profusely for having used such firm and truthful language, which he judged was of a nature to make an impres- sion on the King; although he did not con- ceal his fear that my words might have no result on the King's indecision of spirit, whose blindness the General so much regretted. 43 THE EVENTS OF 1830 The situation in France, was, at this time, becoming threatening, although this was perceived by only a small nimiber of men accustomed to reflect in a dispassionate manner, free from that party spirit which ever leads people astray. There were only two men in the foreign diplomatic service at Paris who foresaw the danger hovering over the throne and society. Nor were they able to understand the danger, but they had suspicion of what it was, and were computing beforehand its serious consequences. One of these was the Russian Ambas- sador, Pozzo di Borgo, (a Corsicanby birth,) and a shrewd man of brilliant mind. He had been a member of the Assembly of the States-General in France; later, on becom- ing an Emigre, he had lived a long time at Vienna, which he left to enter the Rtis- sian service. He had become a Lieu- 44 THE EVENTS OF 1830 tenant- General, and, later, Ambassador to Paris. The other was the Prussian Minister, Baron von Wert her, a clear- visioned and intelligent man, somewhat rough in his manners, yet having that penetrating glance which comes from knowledge of men and affairs, coupled with that power of observation which foresees events and their import. 45 X On arriving at Paris, I asked permission (in accordance with custom) to present myself to the King. Charles X had known my family, especially Comte Florimond de Mercy Argenteau, (my relative,) who had for twenty-five years been the Austrian Ambassador to France, and who had pre- sided at the marriage of Marie Antoinette to Louis XVI, then Dauphin. Towards Coimt Florimond the unfortimate Princess had shown almost daughterly affection and unlimited confidence, to which my relative responded with entire devotion. The nimierous autograph letters from the imfortunate Queen, (which I had the good luck of acquiring, and which I prize very highly,) are full of the most touching 46 THE EVENTS OF 1830 and honorable evidences of this relation- ship. The King always received me with great kindness whenever I came to Paris, and with the good-will to which he had accus- tomed me. The day following my arrival, I was in- vited to the Tuileries for a special audience, in the apartments occupied by Charles X. At the moment that the door of his salon was opened, the King approached me with especial eagerness, and his first words were: "I am charmed to see you, Monsieur le Comte. Your King has at last become a King!" Taken imawares, I sought for a moment to fathom the meaning of the King's re- mark, and soon found it in the Message to the States-General, on the ii**^ of Decem- ber, 1829, in which King William declared that to him alone belonged the right to 47 THE EVENTS OF 1830 interpret the Constitution, and that from January i^*, 1830, every officer serving in the employ of the Government must take his oath of adherence to this Royal declara- tion, under penalty of dismissal. This was a sort of veritable coup d'etat, all the more pleasing to King Charles X, as he was then contemplating a plan which was to have an entirely different issue, and of which no one as yet had any suspicion. Charles X seemed to draw some kind of encouragement from this act of William I. I could not immediately understand why; and I sought to be enlightened by means of the reply that I had in mind, and that I made: "The King of the Netherlands," I said, "will always know how to defend, with the firmness characteristic of his principles and his natiire, all that appertains and belongs to the Royal prerogative. Yoiir Majesty 48 THE EVENTS OF 1830 can be sure of that. But at the same time, the King will never consent to have this authority separated from in- stitutions which have become the Charters of the country which he has sworn to defend." I had exactly found my mark. At these last words of mine, the King took me quickly by the arm, and replied in these very words : — "Understand this, Monsieur le Comte: there are two things which can no longer continue together. One of them will suc- cumb. Royalty is menaced everywhere and on all sides. I am here, as you see, surrounded by enemies, and living on the edge of a volcano. This position cannot be maintained much longer. I must get out of it, and at all costs, do you understand? Royal power must recover its rights; must free itself from the fetters which shackle it. 4 49 THE EVENTS OF 1830 This is the only guarantee of the return of social order." I could hardly imagine that I had heard correctly; that the blindness of prejudice could go so far! I shivered from head to foot. . . . His words were a flash of light for me; I saw only too well what rashness and danger they contained; and of which I was soon to receive the proof. Struck by the firmness and eagerness with which the King had just expressed himself, and by his determined and assured look, I remained for a moment silent and dumbfounded. The King, noticing this, immediately continued : — "Yes, what I have told you is true. What you call Charter and Constitution are not in accord with royal power, which is a thing by itself, and must remain so, 50 THE EVENTS OF 1830 for the safety of society, which without it were condemned to perish. "Royalty is being attacked everywhere, and on all sides; I have said this before and now I repeat it: we must free oiu-selves from this situation and free ourselves at any cost." There could be no further doubt: the coup d'etat had been planned in secret. And this secret had just escaped the lips of that unfortunate Prince, with whom it had become a fixed idea. However, I still wished to try to lead the King's thoughts to other matters which he seemed to desire to disregard, and which bore incontestably the stamp of truth. These were the material prosperity of the country, the great progress of industry, and the consequent well-being apparent to everyone. I added my own observations to those of which I was merely the echo. I 51 THE EVENTS OF 1830 said that in crossing through a large section of the Departments of the North, I had been struck with the general prosperity of the country, with the state of its cultiva- tion; its coal mines; its industrial estab- lishments in which a multitude of persons were engaged; with its beet sugar manu- facturing yielding a large product, and quantities of fertilizer that, enriching and deepening the soil, added materially to the selling price and renting value of the land. The King let me speak a long while without interruption; but finally, impatient with an argument which was displeasing to him, stopped me suddenly with these words : "You deceive yourself; you are having illusions about the true state of affairs; you are seeing only the surface of things, while I am going to the bottom of them. It is the spirit of the country which is now being corrupted; the very foundation of 52 THE EVENTS OF 1830 society which is being destroyed; its moral and rehgious principles are giving way. Power remains without prestige. Where are we heading? God knows! ... I am here on a veritable volcano, as I have al- ready told you, and I can not too often repeat: We must prevent the explosion, and I say it over and over again, at all cost we must extricate ourselves!" The conversation continued a long time in this vein. Unequalled were my aston- ishment and consternation. We had been standing up all this time, the King very- much excited, walking up and down the- salon, speaking vehemently and with very animated gestures. At times he would' come close to me, and then move away and stand motionless, leaning against the mantel- piece, attentive, surprised, not interrupting me, and only throwing in, from time to time, a few words of opposition, words 53 THE EVENTS OF 1830 which were quite fair and necessary in keep- ing up the discussion that was becoming of powerful interest and of serious importance. Finally, the King signified that the audience was ended, and told me, as he left, that he would be charmed to see me again. I immediately engaged a carriage and drove to the home of General Fagel, the Minister of the Netherlands. Great was his astonishment when he heard me relate in a few words what had taken place in that impressive interview from which I had just come. He urged me to see General Pozzo di Borgo, the soul of the foreign diplomatic corps at Paris, who was at that time the favorite correspondent of the Emperor Alexander. I had known General Pozzo di Borgo for a long time, and when he learned the natiu-e of the matter I wished to discuss, he hastened to make an appoint- ment for the following day at his home. 54 C^//yu'Ttjr Cf/<'x