Albert, France

“ Day after day rolled heavily on, and Albert lay in utter darkness, ignorant of his destiny, unvisited by any being except the swart and bearded savage who brought the daily pittance, scarcely sufficient for the wants of his wretched existence.
Albert of Vermandois, a Burgundian youth of high nobility, and yet more exalted renown, had left his native land stung almost to madness by the early death of her to whom he had vowed his affections, and whose name he had already made “glorious by his sword,” from the banks of the Danube to the pillars of Hercules. ”

“ On the death of Egbert in 766 the unanimous voice of the people called Albert to the vacant see. He showed himself worthy of their choice, “feeding his flock with the food of the Divine Word, and guarding the lambs of Christ from the wolf.” He governed the Church of York for thirteen years, during which time he never abandoned his care of the school. The mastership, however, devolved on Alcuin, and such was the fame of his scholarship as to draw students not only from all parts of England and Ireland, but also from France and Germany. ”

“ Here we obtained by entreaty a reception in an inn, the fourth from that old woman’s. It was not till the morrow, Tuesday, that Lord Albert and his suite arrived on horseback. Here two respectable citizens came to Lord Albert, and when Lord Albert told them, that the King of Bohemia had entered into a league or friendly relations with the King of France, on hearing that they were greatly terrified, because they have something in question with the King of France, and especially because the King of France covets them, wishing to bring them under his feudal sovereignty. ”

“ When Charles left Germany a few weeks later, Albert renewed his depredations in Franconia. These soon became so serious that a league was formed to crush him, and Maurice of Saxony led an army against his former comrade. The rival forces met at Sievershausen on the 9th of July 1553, and after a combat of unusual ferocity Albert was put to flight. Henry II., duke of Brunswick, then took command of the troops of the league, and after Albert had been placed under the imperial ban in December 1553 he was defeated by Duke Henry, and compelled to fly to France. ”

“ The Duke of Brunswick capitulated, retired, and repassed the frontier, to the indignation of the French princes and the 20,000 armed men who had followed them; to the disgust of all true soldiers,—men like General Clairfait;—and to the astonishment of all France and the Jacobins themselves, for the mob will never learn this eternal truth, that great events spring from the most trivial causes, and even from the lowest and most absurd motives.
Proh! pudor! A retreat was ordered in accordance with the capitulations, but the French hussars plundered the baggage of our rear guard. ”

“ The Chevalier de Carondelet, who commanded for the King of Spain, received them at New Orleans with all the honours due to their rank; but, during their stay in the United States, no one, — except the French, who, whatever their political opinions might be, could not regard princes of the blood royal of France as ordinary personages,—knew them, saluted them, or designated them but by the name of Equality. To the Americans this appeared the most natural thing in the world. ”

“ It has been maintained that the proper action for France was to remain neutral, and take advantage of the difficulties of England, to occupy, and thus make her restore, Canada, which has always remained French at heart. This double opportunity of war, or re-occupation, would have furnished an outlet for surplus population, which, failing that, has overflowed in the form of a revolution on our own monarchy, and has then inundated Europe. ”

“ When we think of the false ideas of government and philanthropy which these youths acquired in America, and propagated in France with so much enthusiasm and such deplorable success,—for this mania of imitation powerfully aided the Revolution, though it was not the sole cause of it,—we are bound to confess that it would have been better, both for themselves and us, if these young philosophers in red-heeled shoes had stayed at the Court. ”

“ They kept their eyes fixed on France, to which they all expected to return sooner or later and recommence what each called his great work, for there were exactly the same number of political systems as there were refugees. In the United States you might have believed yourself in the Elysian Fields described in the Sixth Book of the Æneid, where the shades still pursue the same ideas they had cherished in the other world.
But a man must live, and the most curious spectacle was to see these Frenchmen, fallen from their former greatness, and now exercising some trade or profession. ”

“ Entire families of Alsatians followed the army in its retreat. Many indeed still remained under the yoke, and after the fatal day which ended the campaign of 1792 by a shameful and inexplicable retreat, it is difficult to say which were the more unfortunate, those French people who left their country or those who remained there. In France nearly every family was devastated by death, which fell upon people of every rank and every age. ”

“ Marshal Saxe was returning into France after the campaign of 1745. At the gates of some city on the French frontier, a customs officer presented himself at the door of the carriage, and said, "Have you anything contrary to the orders of the King, Marshal?" ”

“ The army is being formed of ex-prisoners taken in the East and the West, and no small number at the Italian front, and by volunteers from America. Their officers have been called from France and Russia, and from the distant stations of Siberia. They are fine-looking, soldierly men, of medium size, taciturn as a rule, but with a bright twinkle in their blue eyes and a strong patriotic fervour in their hearts. ”

“ All the cleverest, coolest, and most thoughtful men in the army which entered France, had calculated that the campaign would be over in a fortnight. Many peasants had emigrated with the gentlemen of their province, or the officers of their regiment. ”

“ France had been at peace, and the army swarmed with young officers with aristocratic names. It was more difficult to be a cavalry captain in 1779 than it was to be a colonel twenty or thirty years later.
The French Government was then meditating a descent on England. A large army assembled in Brittany and Normandy, under the command of the Comte de Vaux. ”

“ A fine specimen, in fair preservation, which is now to be seen at the Palais des beaux Arts at Paris, has supplied the subject of a plate in Shaw's Dresses and Decorations; its date is 1350, and it presents a good example of the usual character of incised slabs, as they were formerly to be seen in profusion in the cathedral and abbey churches of France. It is no easy matter to obtain a satisfactory rubbing from an incised slab, and, a good method of operation is still a desideratum. ”

“ It particularly deserves to be noticed, that, with scarcely a single known exception, the brasses of France and Flanders differed from those commonly used in England, in this respect, that they were formed of one large unbroken sheet of metal, the field or back-ground being richly diapered to set off the figures, whereas in England the slab of dark grey marble, to which the brass was affixed, served as the field ”

“ It is with the view of engaging antiquaries to bestow upon the sepulchral effigies of this class some greater measure of attention, and of encouraging the members of the Institute to communicate notices, or rubbings, where it may be practicable, of such examples as may fall under their observation, that the following notice of some interesting incised memorials in France and our own country is offered to our readers.
Monumental figures, engraved in simple outline upon large slabs of stone, appear to have been more extensively used in France than in this kingdom. ”

“ And the thing was so much the more annoying, as, according to the characteristic modesty of a Frenchman, Albert had quitted Paris with the full conviction that he had only to show himself in Italy to carry all before him, and that upon his return he should astonish the Parisian world with the recital of his numerous love-affairs. Alas, poor Albert! ”

“ In 1919, twenty-one years after his first trip to this country, King Albert with Queen Elizabeth came to the United States again. They received a warm welcome from one end of the country to the other and the good wishes of all Americans have gone back with them to the wrecked and devastated land that they are striving to restore. Whether King Albert will perform as great work in reconstruction as he has already performed as a soldier and a King the future will decide, but he has already gained an immortal place in the history of the world. ”

“ If in the Belgian heart, from ruler to refugee, there is room for more pride than should of right be there already, surely these pages, voicing the homage of all that counts in the world to-day, will bring it. We are all King Albert's men now, and in this book we have a welcome chance of proving our fealty. ”

“ I have the honor to be
Sir
Your obedient Servant,
J. INGENBLEEK,
Secretary.
To DR. THOMAS O'HAGAN,
Ottawa.
I TAKE OFF MY HAT TO ALBERT
Albert, King of Belgium, is the hero of the hour;
He's the greatest king in Europe, he's a royal arch and tower;
He is bigger in the trenches than the Kaiser on his Throne,
And the whole world loves him for the sorrows he has known:
So I take off my hat to Albert. ”

“ His father's lessened interest in Europe (and his diminished deference for it) kept his mother at home completely—and by "home" I now mean the town in which Albert had been born. Father, mother, and offspring filled the big house as well as they could—the big, old house as it was sometimes called by those who cherished a chronology that was purely American; and Albert was more than a year and a half along in life before his grandmother came across to see him and to inspect the distant ménage. ”

“ The colonists took a great liking to the tall, reserved young man who studied all their interests and doings with such careful attention, and the impression that Albert made upon this part of his future kingdom was more than favorable.
He had not been at home long before King Leopold died, and on the 23rd of December, 1909, Albert came into his capital as King of the Belgians. ”

“ Surely if one man, one leader, has come out of this severe trial unstained, with his virtue untarnished, it is indeed Albert the First, King of the Belgians. His simple and loyal attitude in face of the German ultimatum, the indomitable courage which he showed during the Belgian campaign, his dignity, his reserve, his almost exaggerated modesty, ought to have won for him, besides the deep admiration of the Allies and of the neutral world, the respect and esteem even of his worst enemy. ”

“ He felt no fear on his own account. A boy in years, he was a man in the ability to care for himself, wherever he might be. In a boyhood spent on an Illinois farm, where the prairies slope up to the forest, he had learned the ways of wood and field, and was full of courage, strength, and resource.
But Albert was different. He had not thrived in the moist air of the great valley. Tall enough he was, but the width of chest and thickness of bone were lacking. ”

“ IV. In moments of revolt Albert always thought of leaving his fatherland forever, but then his love for the land that gave him birth would return—his innate fondness of the people about him would possess him, the memories of his childhood on the banks of the Rhine would hold him with chains of steel. He saw every fault in his compatriots, but the faults seemed so glaring to him, and stirred him so deeply, because he loved the people. ”

“ Ay low enough, God knows,
May He protect!
[As Charles disappears, following David,
enter Albert.] Albert. The King? Ernst. Enticed away
Like Master Eginhardt. Those woods have closed
On Majesty, ah woe the day! Albert. Ah woe
Indeed! where shall we turn? Old man, come steer
My course; the ship is rudderless, the captain
Has gone. Ernst. And so you call on me, a peasant;
Forgetting noble birth and heritage!
Go search your prized gentility, your schooling,
Your war-time prowess, your hunting skill, your pride,
Vain-glory, your anything. Leave me. I have
A friend—another friend, to mourn. ”

“ Really, when one thinks of the very dull life, and particularly the life of constant self-denial, which my poor, dear Albert leads, he deserves every amusement in the world, and even about his amusements he is so accommodating that I am deeply touched by it. He is very fond of shooting, but it is all with the greatest moderation. Do you know that you never wished Albert joy of his birthday?
The state of politics in Europe is very critical, and one feels very anxious for the future.
With my dearest Albert's love, and mine, to my beloved Louise. ”

“ Early in this year of 1850, Prince Albert, though not in his usual health, began in deadly earnest on his colossal labors in behalf of the great "World's Exhibition." England owed that magnificent manifestation of her resources and her enterprise far more to him than to any other man. He met with much opposition from that conservative class who, from the start, denounce all new ideas and innovations, shrinking like owls from the advancing day; and that timid class who, while admitting the grandeur of the idea, feared it was premature. ”

“ The names of the hero-king, Albert, and of his brave consort, Queen Elizabeth, are honored by inscriptions, and their pictures, cut from, newspapers, decorate the schoolrooms and the little family cubicles.
The brutal power which reigns at Berlin may drive the Belgians out of Belgium by terror and oppression. But it cannot drive Belgium out of the hearts of the Belgians. While they live their country lives, and Albert is still their King. ”