was at Claremont, where the
Princess Charlotte had died; there the Princess Victoria spent many
happy holidays, and grew to regard her uncle with the most devoted
affection, almost, indeed, in the light of a father. It is said that
Prince Leopold had hoped to be named Regent, if a Regency should be
necessary.[1] He was offered, and accepted, the throne of Greece in
1830, but shrank from the difficulties of the position, and withdrew
his acceptance upon the plea that Lord Aberdeen, who was then Foreign
Secretary, was not prepared to make such financial arrangements as he
considered satisfactory.[2]

[Footnote 1: A practical proof of his interest in his niece
may be found in the fact that for years he contributed
between three and four thousand a year to the expenses of her
education, and for necessary holidays by the sea, at a time
when the Duchess of Kent's Parliamentary Grant was unequal to
the increasing expenses of her household.]

[Footnote 2: Greece after having obtained autonomy was in a
practically bankrupt condition, and the Powers had guaranteed
the financial credit of the country until it was able to
develop its own resources.]

It is interesting to observe from the correspondence that King Leopold
seems for many years to have continued to regret his decision; it was
not that he did not devote himself, heart and soul, to the country of
his adoption, but there seems to have been a romantic element in his
composition, which did not find its full satisfaction in presiding
over the destinies of a peaceful commercial nation.

[Pageheading: THE KING OF THE BELGIANS]

In 1831, when Louis Philippe, under pressure from Lord Palmerston,
declined the throne of Belgium for his son the Duc de Nemours, Prince
Leopold received and accepted an offer of the Crown. A Dutch invasion
followed, and the new King showed great courage and gallantry in an
engagement near Louvain, in which his army was hopelessly outnumbered.
But, though a sensitive man, the King's high courage and hopefulness
never deserted him. He ruled his country with diligence, ability, and
wisdom, and devoted himself to encouraging manufactures and commerce.
The result of his firm and liberal rule was manifested in 1848, when,
on his offering to resign the Crown if it was thought to be for
the best interests of the country, he was entreated, with universal
acclamation, to retain the sovereignty. Belgium passed throu