The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1898-08-14
KING LEOPOLD
TO VISIT us.
His Belgian Majesty Will Make the
United States the Objective Point
of His Coming Yachting Trip.

Although the Princess Eulalia is not
likely soon to visit America again, or
the Duke of Veragua to cross the At
lantic to our shores, yet the United
States is not to be entirely forgotten by
royal tourists. Already the parlors of
the Waldorf have become the
familiar haunt of the young Count de
Turin. the nephew of the King of Italy,
and Prince Albert of Belgium has been
feted by Mrs. Potter Palmer, at New
port, and has gained some acquaintance
with our music halls and race tracks.
Early in his visit this young prince
made the pilgrimage to Mount Vernon,
where he placed large wreath before
the tomb Of Washington.
His impressions of America, and his
experience of American hospitality,
must have been, upon the whole, salts
factory, and his letters home must have
painted us in interesting colors. for it
IL now announced that King Leopold
of Belgium is to make us a visit in
person.
His Belgian majesty expects to start
in August upon long yachting cruise.
He will cross the Atlantic and will
spend some time in the United States.
One usually associates a long line Of
kings with a throne, especially when
that throne belongs to country as old
as Belgium, yet Leopold is the second
monarch Of his dynasty to rule in
Brussels. After the fall of Napoleon,
when order was evolved out of the
chaos his overthrow had wrought, Hol-
land and Belgium We're freed from
France, only to be united in one gov
80 ID%,r
made the fatal blunder of joining Cath
Ollie Belgium to Protestant Holland.
This was in 1915. But the union could
not last.
In 1880 the Revolution, which over
threw the Bourbon King of France,
Charles XII, communicated its force
to the adjacent country. The people of
Brussels, who had long been restless,
rose as one man in a general revolt
against the Dutch King, William Of
Orange.
The blue blouse Of the laborer became
the private in the ranks. 1t became the
emblem and sign Of freedom. All class
es wore 1t.
For so many centuries Belgium had
been the cockpit of Europe" from the
wars that had been waged within her
territory that she made In her mind
to fight the last battle for her own de-
liverance.
It had been a. great Injustice to un,te
Belgium To Holland ReIpiur having
twice the nonulation and heing hv The
arrangement entirely under the thunh
Of the smaller state.
OF fifteen ministers and secrst.r,e.
of state holding office in 1900 onlv three
were Belgians. the rest were Holland
ers. In the army. and in civil annoint-
ments. about the same average was
maintained. Catholics were being grad
/ually excluded from all part in the gov.
eminent. The majority was beine ruled
bv a minority minority hostile and
apprsssive and utterly foreign "a oil
the interests of the Relgians
Once the revo,ut,on was accommodated
a new era of prosneritv dawned Rut
to preserve the indenendence thew had
achieved the leaders saw thew must
conciliate Eurone bv setting I'm a mon
srcbiaI form of government The now
ers had found France too troublesome
10 hermit little Belgium IN follow bar
examnle therefore a renuhlic was an
imnossihi1itv although II was earnestly
desired nv manv
A constitutional monarchv was de-.
termined unon as the only form, of gov
eminent which would be tolerated NV
the powers and accented nv the neonIe
There were two candidates for the
new throne. One was Prince Ohio of
Bavaria. the other Prince I,eonold of
Saxe.cobure The choice fell unor
Prince T,eonold. Prince I,eonold ~
saxe-Cohure VIZ, a. German nrince
nearly related To the roval family of
England. He had been the husband NJ
the Princess Charlotte. the daughter
of csorre w.. and had she lived would
have held the same place in England
that the Prince Consort afterward held
as the husband OF Queen Victoria. Had
the Princess lived I,eopold could never
have accented the crown of Belgium
To have done so would have made n
v,rtuallv an English possession. Rut
the death of the Princess Charlotte left
him freq to accent the throne
denutation Of Belgium notah,aa v,..
tied the Prince in London toward tho
and of AnriI 1871 making tho formal
tender of their crown.
On tbe 4th of June T,eono,d ya. nro-
claimed King of the ReIeians uis
tnanpuration took nIaca ar Rrussels
on The DIST Of JuIv II was followed
oIroost irnmediatelv bv tho host,Ia GA