The Letters of Queen Victoria Volume Ii Part 35

[Footnote 4: Fifth daughter of George III., born 1777. She died in May 1848.]

[Pageheading: THE FRENCH ROYAL FAMILY]

_The King of the Belgians to Queen Victoria._

LAEKEN, _12th January 1848._

MY DEAREST VICTORIA,--A messenger of my own going to England, I take advantage of it to write you a few words. Your kind letter to the poor King was an act for which I thank you from the bottom of my soul, because it made him so happy. I was still in his rooms--where the family has been breakfasting and dining till now--when your letter arrived; he was so delighted with it that he _kissed it most tenderly_. I left him tolerably well on Monday, but with rather a severe cold. He had certainly at the end of December the Grippe, which perhaps was the immediate cause of poor Aunt's death, as from over-anxiety for her beloved brother, she got up in the night to find out how he was. His cold had been better when he went to Dreux, then he met the procession, and walked with it bareheaded to the church; this seems to have given him a new cold. His nerves are also a good deal shaken, and this renders him very irritable. He is much occupied about some of the arrangements connected with poor Aunt's fortune; she left her landed property to Nemours, Joinville, and Montpensier, charged with the various sums she left to nearly all the branches of her family. The King is to have, however, the enjoyment of the whole of this fortune for his life. His great wish would be to employ the revenues, from the whole of the succession legacies as well as landed property, to free the landed property of the mortgage of the various legacies. This will require a good many years, and I told him that it would force him to live till it would be arranged, which will easily require ten years. In France a good feeling has been shown on this occasion. I heard from trustworthy quarters that even people who were known to be personally not very kind to the King, expressed themselves most anxious for his preservation. Whenever that sad event will take place, the reaction in Europe will be great, as all the bad pa.s.sions which are kept down by him will then of course try to get the over hand. The Queen is much affected by all this, and thinks much of her own end. The children, including good Helene, have all behaved with the utmost affection to their parents, and nothing can equal particularly good Nemours' devotion and attention. My beloved Child, your truly devoted Uncle,

LEOPOLD R.

[Pageheading: REVOLUTION IN FRANCE]

_The King of the Belgians to Queen Victoria._

LAEKEN, _12th February 1848._

MY DEAREST VICTORIA,--... From Paris the news are alarming;[5] the struggle of the Liberal Party leaning towards radicalism, or in fact merely their own promotion; principles are _out_ of the question. This state of affairs reacts in a very lamentable way upon the well-being of the great European community. Great complaints are made that the working cla.s.ses are deprived of work and at the same time political agitation is kept up, which must have the effect of stopping transactions of every description. The human race is a _sad_ creation, and I trust the other planets are better organised and that we may get there hereafter.... Your devoted Uncle,

LEOPOLD R.

[Footnote 5: The Republican movement had been making rapid headway in Paris, and the leader of the Opposition, M. Odilon Barrot, proposed Guizot's impeachment on the 22nd of February.

Louis Philippe, when it was unfortunately too late, consented to a change of Ministry, but the formation of a new Government proved impossible. The Revolution could have been quelled, had it not been for the King's reluctance to shed blood in defence of the Throne to which he had been elected; even to the agitators themselves the completeness of the Revolution was a surprise.]

_Lord John Russell to Queen Victoria._

DOWNING STREET, _23rd February 1848._

Lord John Russell presents his humble duty to your Majesty, and will have the honour of waiting upon your Majesty at three o'clock to-morrow.

Lord Normanby's letters from Paris give a little information.[6]

There has been some fighting in the streets, and some apprehension for the night. But it does not appear probable that any serious danger will be incurred, with the troops in such force in Paris.

Hereafter there may be a serious struggle between the Government of the King, and the Republicans. But in that case such men as M. Odilon Barrot will shrink from the contest.

[Footnote 6: A letter from Lord Normanby on the 13th of March to Lord Palmerston (published in Ashley's _Life of Palmerston_, vol. i. chap. iii.) gives an account of the situation on the eve of the 22nd of February. On the 25th of February he wrote:--

"The National Guards, mixed with the people, were in full march upon the Tuileries, and the latter threatening the life of the King, when Emile Girardin, the editor of the _Presse_ newspaper, who was in advance as an officer of the National Guard, hastily drew up an Act of Abdication, and placed it before the King as the only means of safety. The King at first refused, saying that he would rather die; but the Duc de Montpensier urged him, not only for his own sake, but to save his country from confusion. The King at last signed it, and threw it impatiently at the Duc de Montpensier, who, I believe, has been in favour of conciliatory counsel throughout. The Royal Family then retired through the garden, the King saying to every one as he pa.s.sed, 'J'abdique, j'abdique.'"]

_The King of the Belgians to Queen Victoria._

LAEKEN, _26th February 1848._

MY DEAREST VICTORIA,--I am very unwell in consequence of the _awful_ events at Paris. How will this end? Poor Louise is in a state of despair which is pitiful to behold. What will soon become of us G.o.d alone knows; great efforts will be made to revolutionise this country; as there are poor and wicked people in all countries it may succeed.

Against France we, of course, have a right to claim protection from England and the other Powers. I can write no more. G.o.d bless you. Ever your devoted Uncle,

LEOPOLD R.

[Pageheading: FLIGHT OF FRENCH ROYAL FAMILY]

_The Queen of the Belgians to Queen Victoria._

BRUSSELS, _27th February 1848._

MY DEARLY BELOVED VICTORIA,--I understand by an account arrived this morning, and which seems to be correct, that my unfortunate parents arrived in England before yesterday evening: but I don't know _where_ they are. (I don't know anything of them since the 23rd, evening!!!) But you will surely know, and kindly forward the letter to my poor mother. I have just received your kind letter of the 25th, but I am unable to say more to-day. You will easily conceive my agony and anguish. What an _unbelievable_ clap of thunder! I know still nothing of what Nemours and Montpensier are become. I rely on your interest and sympathy, and remain as ever, yours most devotedly,

LOUISE.

I hear this moment with an _extreme relief_ that my parents were to arrive yesterday at London, and thank G.o.d from the bottom of my heart for their safety! In my agony I did not wish for anything else.

[Pageheading: THE KING OF PRUSSIA]

[Pageheading: ANARCHY IN PARIS]

_The King of Prussia to Queen Victoria._

[_Translation._]

_27th February 1848._

MOST GRACIOUS QUEEN AND SISTER,--Even at this midnight hour of the day, on the evening of which the awful news from Paris has arrived, I venture to address these lines to your Majesty. G.o.d has permitted events which decisively threaten the peace of Europe.

It is an attempt to "spread the principles of the Revolution by _every_ means throughout the whole of Europe." This programme binds together both these individuals and their parties. The consequences for the peace of the world are _clear_ and _certain_. If the revolutionary party carries out its programme, "The sovereignty of the people," my minor crown will be broken, no less certainly than the mighty crowns of your Majesty, and a fearful scourge will be laid upon the nations; a century [will follow] of rebellion, of lawlessness, and of G.o.dlessness. The late King did not dare to write "by the Grace of G.o.d." _We_, however, call ourselves King "by the Grace of G.o.d,"

because it is true. Well, then, most gracious Queen, let us now show to men, to the peoples threatened with disruption and nameless misery, both _that_ we understand our sacred office and _how_ we understand it. G.o.d has placed in your Majesty's hands, in the hands of the two Emperors, in those of the German Federation, and in mine, a power, which, if it now acts in union and harmony, with reliance on Heaven, is able humanly speaking, to enforce, with certainty, the maintenance of the peace of the world. This power is _not that of arms_, for these, more than ever, must only afford the _ultima ratio_.