l events which caused
the separation of Belgium from Holland. The people of the Netherlands
heartily hated England for her leading part in this partition, and not
even the allurement of fishing gold out of the sea could persuade the
Dutch adventurers to have anything to do with Lloyd's or anything that
smacked of the perfidious English. For a quarter of a century, the
wreck of the _Lutine_ was undisturbed. Then, in 1846, two enterprising
English divers in need of work, Hill and Downs by name, conceived an
audacious scheme to enrich themselves. They drew up a petition to the
King of the Netherlands, asking that they be permitted to pick up as
much gold as they could lay hands on among the timbers of the _Lutine_.
Surprising as was this request, it was not refused. According to
custom, the petition was carefully examined at The Hague, and the
discovery was gravely announced that there was no legal obstacle in the
way of the divers, or anyone else, who cared to seek for the _Lutine's_
treasure.

One of the articles of a new code of maritime law, passed by the States
General of the Netherlands in 1838, provided that the salvage of
vessels wrecked "on the outer banks of the coast," was thrown open to
all persons, under stipulated conditions, and that the wreck of the
_Lutine_ came within this act. The government formally notified Hill
and Downs that while the right of salvage could not be granted to any
particular person, the ground was free on condition that "one-half of
all that might be found must be given up to Lloyd's."

The divers may have found some other employment by this time, for they
appeared not at the wreck, but the publication of the proceedings awoke
the old Dutch company formed by the "Upper Strand Finder" and they
opened negotiations with the committee of Lloyd's. No one concerned
seemed to be in a hurry to find the several million dollars remaining
in the _Lutine_ and nine more years dragged past before a working
agreement was signed between the two parties. The Dutch company
undertook to carry on the work of salvage, paying over one-half the
gross proceeds to Lloyd's.

It was in 1857 that the Dutch went to work, and after a month of
exploration the Secretary of Lloyd's received this pleasing information
from his agent at the Texel:

"I feel most happy to inform you that the new efforts to save the value
out of the _Lutine_ have not been without success. Yesterday there was
recovered by means