e 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 passions
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 classes 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 t