o occupy their throne. Leopold
was at this time about forty years of age; he was the youngest
son of Francis, duke of Saxe-Coburg; he had married, in 1816,
the daughter of George IV. of England, the princess Charlotte,
and had, a few months before the Belgians' proposal, been offered
and had refused the crown of Greece. But the Belgian throne was
more to his liking; and after taking measures to sound the Powers
on the subject, and to assure himself of their good will, he
accepted the proffer, and was crowned under the title of Leopold
I. His reign lasted thirty-four years, and was comparatively
uneventful and prosperous.

But the Dutch refused to tolerate this change of sovereignty
without a struggle; William raised an army and suddenly threw
it into Belgium; and the chanees are that he would have made
short work of Belgian resistance had the two been permitted to
fight out their quarrel undisturbed. This, however, could not
happen; since the independence of Belgium had been recognized by
England, Austria, Russia, and Prussia; and the triumphal march
of the Dutch was arrested by a French army which happened to
be in the place where they could be most effective in the
circumstances. The Dutch had occupied Antwerp, a town on the
borderland of Belgium and Holland. It had been in the possession
of the French in 1794, but had been taken from them at the
Restoration in 1814. The French now laid siege to it, being under
the command of Gerard, while the Dutch were led by Chasse. The
citadel was taken in 1832, and the resistance of the Dutch to
the decree of Europe was practically at an end, though William
the Obstinate refused for several years to accept the fact. The
duchy of Luxemburg had sided with the Belgians all along, as
might have been anticipated from its position and natural
affiliations; and though no immediate action was taken relative
to its ownership till 1839, it remained during the interval in
Belgian hands. Matters remained in this ambiguous condition for
some time; but though the Dutch might grumble, they could not
fight. At length the treaty of 1839 was signed in London, on
the 19th of April, according to the terms of which part of the
duchy of Luxemburg was retained by the Belgians, and part was
ruled by the king of Holland as grand duke. In other respects,
the status quo ante was preserved, and the partition of Holland
and Belgium was confirmed, as it has ever since remained. The
history of Belgium then