The King of the Belgians to Queen Victoria.
Laeken, 4th February 1853.
My dearest Victoria,—Receive my best thanks for your gracious letter of the 1st. Since I wrote to you le grand événement a eu lieu! We truly live in times where at least variety is not wanting ; the only mischief is that like drunkards people want more and more excitement, and it therefore will probably end by what remains the most exciting of all—War. Amusing and interesting war is, it must be confessed, more than anything in the world, and that makes me think that it must be the bouquet when people will be blasé of everything else. I enclose a letter from our Secretary of Legation at Madrid, Baron Beyens, who married a great friend of the Queen, Mademoiselle de Santa Cruz, and is much au fait of all things that interest the public just now. It seems by what I learned from Paris that the Empress communicated to a friend a communication of son cher époux when she expressed her sense of her elevation to such eminence; as it may interest you and Albert, I will make an extract of it here: “Vous ne me parlez, ma chére enfant, que des avantages de la position que je vous offre, mais mon devoir est de vous signaler aussi ses dangers; ils sont grands, je serai sans doute & vos cétés l’objet de plus d’une tentative d’assassinat ; indépendamment de cela, je dois vous confier que des complots sérieux se fomentent dans Parmée. J’ai Poeil ouvert de ce cété et je compte bien d’une maniére ou d’autre prévenir toute explosion; le moyen sera peut-étre la guerre. La encore il y a de grandes chances de ruine pour moi. Vous voyez donc bien que vous ne devez pas avoir de scrupules pour partager mon sort, les mauvaises — chances étant peut-étre égales aux bonnes!”
I was sorry to hear of Lord Melbourne’s, i.e., Beauvale’s, death. I knew him since 1814, and found him always very kind. For poor Lady Melbourne, who devoted herself so much, it is a sad blow. We are longing for a little cold, but it does not come though we have some east wind. I am held back in some of the most essential measures for the defence of the country by the tricks of the Chamber. I see that the Manchester party shines in unusual Bright-ness and Cobden-ness by a degress of absurdity never as yet heard of. In the American War the Quakers refused to fight; they did not besides like the extremities the States had gone to against the mother country ; but not to defend its own country against probable invasion is truly too much.
Pray have the goodness to give my best love to Albert, and believe me, ever my dearest Victoria, your devoted Unele,
Leopold R.
