BELGIUM

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2235, 22 August 1914, Page 8

BELGIUM

; A LAND 0P MANY BATTLES

HISTORY AND LEGEND

BEAUTIES OP THE ARDENNES

Belgium is in many respects an interesting country, famed alike for its natural beauties, its pictures, its architecture, its historical memories, and foi its gardening, farming, manufacturing engineering, and its position now and of old time, in regard to greater countries, but its chief claim to notice rests upon tho fact that it has been tho scene or wars innumerable and of many famous battles. "The Cockpit of Europe." From the dawn of history—at any rate, from tlie time when Caesar attacked and overcame the Nervii—until a century ago, the country now called lielgium has rarely known peace, said a writer in the London "Times" about a year ago. Belgium has been idrenched in blood. Ever since the , vast realm of the Merovingians and the Carlovingians began to break up, tliis district, a part of the "Middle Provinces," has lain between the two grea't Powers into which Charlemagne's empire split. Till Waterloo she remained their chosen fighting ground;'and the inhabitants have fought, on their own initiative, against tbe domination of either and against each other. Close to Dinant ■rise the ruins of Bouvignes. Bouvignes and Dinant were always at each other's throats until Dinant had destroyed Bouvignes. Audi from the citadel of Dinant Louis of Nevers, like Carrier on the Loire, threw 800 .noyades into tho Meuse: and little more than a century later the French were again capturing, destroying;, and burning. Wherever you in Belgium you meet with the memories of blood and rapine. . I have referred before to 'two famous battles-—Court*ai, where the ■ footmen of the burgher towns defeated the French' chivalry of Philippe IV; and Rcosebeke, where, 60 .years later, Charles VI took his revenge. Under the Burgundians there was peace and splendour aiid prosperity, wrecked at last by the ambitions of Charles the Bold, whose body, slain in battle at Nancy, now lies beside his daughter's in the noble tombs at Bruges. Thencame the dominion of tho House of Hapshurg, the tyranny of Charles V, the persecutions of Granvella and Alva,' the revolt '.of tho United Provinces. 'There was a respite from, blood and war under the beloved Infanta Isabella and her hushand the Archduke Charles; and these were the days of Rubons, painter and Ambassador, days of state and pomp and commerce; but, when tho breathing space was over, Belgium 'becamo the scene of the,famous wars of the 17th and 18th centuries, which earned for her the title of "the cockpit of Europe." . It is easily possible 'to follow the marches of Louis XIV, of Maryborough, and Eugene', of Saxe; to lsit Ramillies, Oudenarde, Fontenoy, and many other famous battlefields. The memories are glorious, terrible, sometimes comic. One thinks with a kind of affection of the good people of Tormonde, who, sitting snugly behind their great double line of walls, sent the Grand Monai-juo's army packing by opening ttiqir sluice-gates and drowning it out. But to the ordinary Englishman no place is quite so dear as oftenbesieged and (one would have said) impregnable Nani'ur,. towering abovo the river "and 'looking far' acrbssthe valley, of the Meuse.. For the ordinary Englishman there is only one siege of ■Namur, and it takes place not i^ Belgium, at all, hut on a certain bowling-green at the bottom of the kitchen garden, of a small house in a country village in England, .where My Uncle Toby and Corporal Trim, ardent soldiers, heroic infants, honourable gentlemen, play their'immortal gam«.. : , The Field of Watwioo. ] To' the student' of . military affairs many of these Belgian battlefields must be disappointing, thanks to the changes brought by' man and by time. Even to the ordinary traveller ■ the last and greatest of all is a little disappointing. To see -the field of Waterloo without having seen Ligny and Quatre Bras is to miss'much,; •but it is also to appreciate more fully 1 the- disagreeable results of public pilgrimage. If you walk to the field of Waterloo from Braine l'Alleud the hotel touts and- the postcard sellers ' (who attacked you first, at the ' Gare du Midi at Brussels) will have spoiled your te'mper, even before you reach the little vulgar nest of inns and museums at the foot of the Lion Mound. You will think hardly of' Belgian thrift which laughingly allows the field.to be sold off.in build-' ing plots. You will even' resent the Lion Mound itself; has it not lowered tihe level all round in order to rear itself on one of the most exciting spots of the battle? But once you are on top of the mound (especially under the guidance of Sergeant-Major Welsh) resentment fades away. Though Hongoumont is neighboured by a great new building, and the road levels are changed and many of tie buildings rebuilt it is still possible to see so much of what was that the story of the battle leaps to life. From tho top of the Lion Monnd.everything can be seen —La Haie Sainte and La Haie Farm and Belle Alliance, Plancenoit, Smohaiu, all the famous places and- the distant heights by Friscliermont, where Blucher opened fire on that momentous afternoon. Perhaps to the amateur the most striking thing is the nearness of the two armies, the smallness of tho field where so vast an issue wae decided. ( i The Noble Winding Meuse. '"The Cockpit of Europe"—the phrase sticks in the mind as ono looks from Namur acros9 the valley of the Meuse, or down from the citadel on Liego, orowding ■ both sides of its noble winding river. Liege, one© the august and turbulent town of the Prince Bishops, is very busy, very bright, very gay and clad to think itself a littlo Paris. And like, Antwerp Ljege is, or is meant, to be, bustling with forts by whidli the neutrality of. Belgium may be maintained. From Liege to Namur and beyond the Meuse is fortified; and a glance at the map will show liow natural is that school of; thought which advocates in case of trouble the abandonment of all that lies .south and east of the river. Yet the traveller in that wedgo between Germany and France cannot lielp reflecting how easy it would b's to defend. Theso n forest telbpes; precipitous hills, and narrow roads, ono fancies, could be held against an army by a very few men, especially bv men of tho breed of the forest guards and the poachers liko that Cachapros whom M. Onmille Lomonnier describes in ''Un Male"—men who know every inch of tho forests and have the senses of Red Indians and the endurance of Arabs. . • Old-time Legends. The wholesome temptation that besets the traveller in this region, however, is to give up reflecting on anything, niost of all on polities and war, and 1 just to enjoy tho loveliness of these woods and- hills and waters, tho /amazing dips and curves of the finely engineered and finely laid road—so different from the cobble-stones and the joltings of the straight, level roads of Flanders, and the high-sot old castles and'churches'that give tho district a recurring- .resemblance to Hie Rhine. It is a region'full of historical association and of legend. Hero is the very forest in which St. Hubert saw the -etac .with tho crucifix between Ms ant-.

lers. ■ Close to'Dinantis'tbe Roche a' Bayard, stamped with tho hoof mark of Bayard, as,.bearing tlio four sons of Eymon on liis back (as you may see in the statue at the Ghent Exhibition), tho great liorso leaped tho Mouse, with Charlemagne in pursuit. At Amblevo ; the four heroes, lived; and at Amblevo lived later a personage bettor known to English people—that William de la Marck, the "Wild Boar of tho Ardennes," whom we have all clcliciously feared sinco first we read "Quontin. Durwaid." •Franchimont is another castle familiar to readers of Scott (who rhymes the name with "wrong"). Here dwelt the great line that- ended in the robber chief whoso hoard of treasure still lies undiscovered beneath. tho ruins. Round'Liego, too, lies the cradle of a great dynasty. The titular city of the great Clovis, King of Tournai, Patrician and Consul, lies in Western Belgium; in Eastern Belgium , the Carlpvingians, who supplanted his line, bad their origin. The first of tho great Mayors of tho Palace was Pepin ef Landen, in the Hesbaye; and at Landen he died in a.d 640. At Herstal, now all but absorbed in Liege, was born the. still greater Pcpin "of Heristal," ■. jDukp of Austrasia,' who ruled from Herstal and from Cologne, and left behind his son, Charles Martel. • And Herstal is one of several places (among them Aix) which claims to be the birthplace of Charles Martel's grandson, Charlemagne.

. Pleasures of "La Chasse." History and legend call on every side, and natural beauty is lavisli ana various. Some, liave found the Ardennes merely "pretty," but the judgment is a jittle severe'. At ariyrate their beauty is sufficient to attract quiet-living visitors from many countries. Spa—which gave a generic name to the ivateringplaces of which it was the first, but has now lost its supremacy, since fashion changed and the gaming-tables were closed—La Roche, St. Hubert, Hauffalize, the valleys of the Senois and the Lesse,. Furfooz, Wakin, Durbuy, the Baraque do, Fraiture, and many other "beauty spots,!' are becoming- as well known as Dihant. There is good fishing in most of the streams of the .Ardennes, the hotels are cheap' and clean: the population kindly; and the inhabitants of the villas dotted here and there are fond of '-la chasse" and all the trappings, the clothes, and equipment for which "La Chasse" gives opportunity. An English visitor may draw his own. conclusions from the comparative lack of singing birds; but the Belgian, who is not as a rule athletic, who is only now learning to play golf, and whose archery is his only regular recreation, gains from his sojourn in these regions health and peace in the intervals of his busy life. WARLAW . THE RULE OF TWENTY-FOUR ' HOURS' STAY. I Belligerent vessels have 'on several I occasions since the present war began visited: neutral ports. Apart from the recent experience of the Goeben and the' Breslau, German warships in the-Paoifio have more than once been reported as putting in at- Honolulu and- other American ports. In these'circumstances the international law on the subject is of interest. It states • that'belligerent vessels shall only bo permitted to stay in neutral ports for 24 hours, with the alternative of disarmament in the event of non-compliance. Great Britain, as a neutral, originated this rule in 1862, and both Britain and tho United States continued it in other wars in wliich they were neutrals. At first France, Germany,; and Russia- would not;accede to it. ."It;was incorporated in the Suez Canal Convention of 1888, and in the. Treaty of 1901 made between Great respect to the Panama Canal," says Pitt Cobbett. The Russo-Japanese war saw many, instances of its not only: as regards warships, but also transports and colliers. The Hague Convention; No. 13 of 1907, deals with the subject in Article 12, et seq.: "In default of special provisions to the contraiy in the legislation of a. neutral Power, belligerent warships are not -permitted to remain in the ports, roadsteads,-and territorial waters of the-said; Power for moro-than 24 hours, except in tho cases 'covered by the present Convention. If a Power which has received' notice of the' outbreak of hostilities learns that a belligerent warship is in one of-its ports or roadsteads: or territorial waters, it must notify- tho said ship to depart within 24 hours or within the time prescribed by the local law. • A belligerent warship may not prolong its stay in a neutral port beyond the time-permitted, except on acpount - of damage or the stress of weather. It must depart as soon as the cause, of the delay is at an end.. -The'regulations as to the length of time which such vessels may remain in neutral ports, roadsteads, or waters (do hot apply to warships devoted exclusively to religious, scientific, or philanthropic purposes. In neutral ports and roadsteads belligerent warships may only carry out such repairs as aro absolutely necessary to render them seaworthy, and may hot add in any matter whatever to their fighting force; The local authorities of the neutral Power shall decide.what repairs are necessary, and these must be carried! out with' the least possible delay. If notwithstanding the notification of the neutral Power a belligerent ship of war does not leave a port whero it is not entitled to remain, tho neutral Power is entitled to take such measures as it considers necessary to render tho ship incapable of putting to sea as long as the war lasts, aud the commanding officer of the ship must facilitate the exeoution of such measures. When a belligerent ship is detained by 'a neutral Power, the officers and men are likewise detained. The officers and crow so detained may be left m the ship or kept either on another vessel or on land, and may bo subjected, to such restrictions as it may appear necessary to impose upon fhem . A sufficient number of,men must,'however,, bo always left on board for looking after tho vessel. The officers may be left at liberty on. giving their word not to quit the neutral territory without permis6ion. .The last article of this Convention (No. 28) roads: "The provisions of the present convention do not apply except to the contracting Powers, and then only if all tho belligerents are partics to tho convention." Pitt Cobbett's table shows that Germany. America, the Dominican Republic, Great Britain, Japan, Persia, Siam, and Turkey have all qualified; their signature, ratification, or adhesion—thereby greatly limiting the force of tho Convention. The effect of tho Convention in this rcspoct is, as usual, to mark a compromise—in this case, between those Powers who enforced the rule and those wlio did not—by tho rule as previously enforced, subject to leave reserved for a neutral Power to make regulations on the subpect (which must, of course, placo both belligerents on tile samo footing). Such regulations must also bo communicated to the Netherlands Government, undor Article 27, to bo by it communicated to tho contracting parties.

Tho meeting to form a Boy Scouts' Eeagno in Greytown proved a great •success. Some 60 boys appeared to the call of Mr. Maxtou for recruits. The district commander, Mr. W. Moore, was present. Messrs. Goldsman and King were also present, and took part in tho proceedings. Apologies wore received from the Rev. A. T. B. Page and Mr. Jackson. Tho boys wore addressed by tho district commander, who pointed out tho responsibility that would vest on them as Scouts. Some names wero submitted to the district commander for the position of Scoutmaster, and ho chose Mr. S. King. It was arranged that the next meeting would lie held on Wednesday next. The meeting closed with cheers for tho district commander and Mrs. Moore,, and for.'the Scoutmaster. ' • ■