work together in harmony. Only
time--and probably no very long time--is required to bring a
recognition of these facts. Meanwhile, the very violence of the
revolts against even the suspicion of oppression are but symptoms
of the vigorous vitality which, in former centuries, seemed to have
no existence at all. On the other hand, industrial co-operation
seems to promise successful development; it involves immense
economies, and consequent profit to producers. The middleman has
his uses, and especially is he a convenience; but it is easy to
pay too dear for conveniences; and there seems no reason why the
producer should not, as time goes on, become constantly better
equipped for dealing direct with the consumer, to the manifest
advantage of both.

All these and many other triumphs of civilization, which we see
now in objective form, were present in potency at the beginning
of this century, though, as we have said, they were not duly
taken into account by the framers of the agreement which sought
to make Holland and Belgium one flesh. Had the sun not yet risen
upon the human horizon, the attempt might have had a quasi success;
but the light was penetrating the darkened places, and men were
no longer willing to accept subjection as their inevitable doom.
It might be conducive to the comfort of the rest of Europe that
Batavian and Belgian should dwell together under one political
roof; but it did not suit the parties themselves; and therefore
they soon began to make their incompatibility known. But nothing
was heard beyond the grumblings of half-awakened discontent until,
in 1830, the new revolution in Paris sent a sympathetic thrill
through all the dissatisfied of Europe. A generation had now
passed since the first great upheaval, and men had had time to
digest the lesson which it conveyed, and to draw various more or
less reasonable inferences as to future possibilities. It had been
determined that, broadly speaking, what the people heartily wanted,
the people might have; and the disturbances in Paris indicated
that the people were prepared to resent any attempt on the part
of their rulers to bring back the old abuses. When the Pentarchy,
in 1815, had made its division of the spoils of Napoleon, the
Bourbons were reseated on the throne which Louis XIV. had made
famous; but Louis XVIII. was but a degenerate representative
of the glories that had been. He adopted a reactionary policy
against the Napoleonic (or imperialist