68 



BEREI, DUCHESS DE. 



state that his formal intention in conformity with 

 his international obligations is to respect the neu- 

 trality of Belgium. His imperial Majesty at the 

 same time expresses his desire to he confirmed in 

 the opinion ne entertains that my kingdom will 

 cause its neutrality to be respected by all means in 

 its power. I was happy to be able to declare in my 

 answer that his Majesty was not mistaken as to our 

 intentions. 



The King of Prussia's government has also hast- 

 ened to give me a written assurance that Belgian 

 neutrality shall be respected by it so long as the 

 other belligerent parties shall not have violated the 

 existing treaties. 



Among the friendly testimonials which I have re- 

 ceived from foreign powers, I am happy to cite, with 

 a gratitude in which the whole country will share, 

 the solicitude of the government of the Queen of Great 

 Britain for the interests of Belgian nationality, and 

 the generous supports which those sentiments have 

 found in the Parliament and public opinion of Eng- 

 land. 



Belgium, on her side, in the position in which in- 

 ternational law has placed her, will not forget what 

 she owes to other states, nor her duties toward her- 

 self. She will know how, during the war, to main- 

 tain in her conscientious neutrality the honest and 

 sincere character which she has always endeavored 

 to give to her relations in times of peace. In con- 

 formity with the desire of the belligerents them- 

 selves, she will hold herself ready to defend her- 

 self -with all the ardor of her patriotism and all 

 the resources that a nation derives from the ener- 

 gies of its will. Mjr government has already taken 

 on its own responsibility the measures which cir- 

 cumstances demand, and to which the two Cham- 

 bers will not refuse their approbation. In the midst 

 of the anxieties which so naturally occupy your 

 minds, the Government will only submit to you dur- 

 ing your extraordinary session some bills of an 

 urgent character, the adoption of which cannot be 

 delayed till other times. Belgium, gentlemen, has 

 already gone through more than one perilous trial. 

 None has been of the gravity of that through which 

 she is now passing. By her prudence, upright sen- 

 timents, and firm patriotism, she will be able to show 

 that she is worthy of herself, of the esteem which the 

 other nations accord to her, and of the prosperity 

 which her free institutions have procured for her. 



On the llth of August the Chamber of 

 Bepresentatives elected Count Vilain XIV. 

 President by 75 votes against 33, given to 

 M. Rogier. The Chambers were prorogued 

 on September 29th. 



BERRI, MAKIE CAROLINE FEKDINANDE DE 

 BOURBON, Duchess de, a princess of the elder 

 branch of Bourbons, born at Naples, November 

 5, 1798 ; died at her castle of Brunsee, in Styria, 

 April 18, 1870. She was the only daughter 

 of Francis I., King of the Two Sicilies, by his 

 first Queen, Marie Clementine, Archduchess of 

 Austria. Her mother died when she was three 

 .years old, and under the management of her 

 step-mother, who was an Infanta of Spain, her 

 education was almost wholly neglected. Ex- 

 iled from home by the conquests of Napoleon 

 I., she passed a sad and uninstructed child- 

 hood, and, almost as soon as the Bourbons 

 were restored in France and Italy, her hand 

 was demanded by Louis XVIII., for his son 

 the Duke de Berri. She was married on the 

 18th of June, 1816, at Notre-Dame, and was 

 most cordially received by the royal family 

 and won the affections of her husband, though 



he had previously contracted a marriage dur- 

 ing his exile in London. This union, which 

 promised to be so happy, had, however, speed- 

 ily a sad termination. The duke was assassi- 

 nated February 13, 1820, while leading the 

 duchess to her carriage at the door of the 

 opera. The assassiu was a fanatical Bonapart- 

 ist, and avowed that he wished to destroy the 

 Bourbon dynasty in the person of the only 

 member who could perpetuate the race. In 

 this he was disappointed, as some months after 

 the duchess was delivered of a son, who was 

 baptized with great ceremony, and was re- 

 garded as destined to be the future King of 

 France. During the Revolution of July she 

 had resolved to go to the headquarters of the 

 insurgents and present the claims of her son. 

 The old King prevented this step by placing 

 her under arrest and confining her to her own 

 apartments. The revolution triumphed, and 

 she followed the Bourbon family into exile. 

 From the moment of leaving France she was 

 resolved to return and attempt all means of 

 restoring her son to the throne. This impelled 

 her to promote a revolution in France. The 

 arrangements had been made for a rising ^t 

 Marseilles at the time of her landing there in 

 April, 1832 ; but, this having failed, she direct- 

 ed her course toward La Vende" e, and during her 

 sojourn there she became the heroine of many 

 adventurous scenes. Driven from place to 

 place by the columns of troops on her foot- 

 steps in every direction, she took refuge in the 

 city of Nantes, which she entered as a country- 

 woman, barefooted, and carrying a basket of 

 eggs and vegetables. A safe asylum had been 

 prepared for her in that city ; but she was be- 

 trayed by Simon Deutz, a professed convert 

 from Judaism to the Catholic faith, a man who 

 professed great devotion to her interests. M. 

 Thiers and the other members of the Cabi- 

 net had stipulated to give him, it is supposed, 

 1,900,000 francs for the information which led 

 to her arrest. Her imprisonment gave rise to 

 great commotion in France, which was inten- 

 sified by the admission that she had contracted 

 a secret marriage with the Count of Luchessi- 

 Palli, an Italian nobleman. Upon her release 

 she left France, and from that time she lived 

 retired from the political arena, and devoted 

 her energies to training her son for the position 

 she expected him to occupy. This son, now 

 the Count Henri de Chambord, or, as the le- 

 gitimists call him, Henri V., is the sole heir of 

 the elder Bourbon line to the French throne, 

 and during the present political and military 

 convulsions in France has appealed to the 

 French nation, in an exceedingly well-written 

 paper, to recognize his claims. He has been 

 very liberal to the French wounded, and might, 

 in a possible contingency, have a large follow- 

 ing. The duchess, since 1833, had resided at in- 

 tervals at Venice, where she owned the beau- 

 tiful Vendramin Palace, and in her princely 

 castle of Brunsee, in Styria. A concourse of 

 friends visited her constantly, and showed that 



