as Antwerp, and rule over it. So this little
kingdom must have an army to defend itself till some powerful nation
comes to help it.

The Belgian force actually under arms consists of only about 40,000
soldiers, but it can be raised to 200,000, if there is a danger of
war, by calling out the "reserves," or men who have been trained, but
are no longer with their regiments. In order to keep up this force of
40,000 it is necessary to find about 13,000 new men each year. But the
Belgians do not like to be soldiers, and it is very difficult to
persuade them to join the army. Last year only 1,000 would do so,
which seems very few for a country in which there are 7,000,000
people. It has been the same for years. So there is a law called the
Conscription, by which the necessary numbers are forced to serve.

This is how they manage the conscription: in February of each year all
the boys who become nineteen in that year must go and draw lots to
decide which of them are to enter the army.

The drawing generally takes place in the _Hotel de Ville_ of the chief
town in the part of the country to which the boys belong. On the
appointed day all the families in which there are sons liable to serve
flock into the town, and a great crowd gathers outside the building.
The lads who are to draw lots go in, and find some officials waiting
for them. Each boy has to put his hand into the ballot-box and draw
out a paper on which there is a number. Suppose there are 150 boys,
and 50 are wanted for the army, then those who draw the 50 lowest
numbers are those who have to serve. Each boy draws out his paper, and
gives it to an official, who calls out the number. If it is a number
above 50, he is free, and runs out shouting with joy; but if it is one
of the lower numbers, he goes out sadly to tell his family that he has
drawn a "bad" number.

While the drawing goes on, the fathers and mothers, brothers and
sisters, and their friends, wait outside in the greatest anxiety.
There are cheers and joyful greetings when a boy with a "good" number
comes out, and groans of pity for those who have been unlucky. And
when the drawing is done, and everyone knows his fate, they all go off
to the public-houses. Those who have drawn lucky numbers get drunk
from joy, while those who have to serve in the army try to forget
their sorrow in drinking. Very often their families and friends do the
same, and so it comes to pass that every February there are horrible