absence of his elder brother in Russia, undertook the government of the principality, though he was but a boy of 18. Returning again to Russia, he appeared by the side of the Emperor Alexander during that monarch's interview with Napoleon at Erfurt. He was not, however, permitted to remain long at rest. Napoleon having quarrelled with the Czar, required, as Protector of the Confederation of the Rhine, that Duke Ernest should resign his Austrian, and that Prince Leopold should resign his Russian Command. Bowing to necessity, Leopold went to Paris, and, if Napoleon's statement to O'Meara be correct, applied to become one of his Aides-de-camp. The fact, however, seems doubtful. Napoleon's accuracy in his late years was open to question; and from what we know of the foresight and astuteness of Prince Leopold, not to say his patriotism, it does not seem likely that he would have been willing to change sides thus suddenly, and, above all, to side with the bitter foe of his family, of his country, and of his most powerful friend. Certain it is, however, that he spent some time in Paris and in Imperial Society, where, according to Napoleon, he was accounted "one of the handsomest and finest young men of his time." He formed intimate friendships with many of the most illustrious personages of the Empire, among whom Queen Hortense is especially mentioned.

The next two years of his life were uneventful. In 1811 we find him at Munich concluding a treaty with the King of Bavaria as to the boundaries of that kingdom and the Duchy of Coburg. In 1812, when Napoleon's Russian designs became apparent, he offered his services to the Emperor Alexander, but they were declined. This refusal may be explained in two different ways. Either the Czar generously wished to prevent the young Prince from placing himself in a position of difficulty with Napoleon; or, what is more likely, he was offended with him for having too easily abandoned the Russian service, and for having formed French connexions. Whatever the cause may have been, Prince Leopold remained in comparative retirement, travelling in Austria, Switzerland, and Italy till the eventful year 1813, when Germany rose as one inan against Napoleon. Leopold was then selected as the fit person to communicate the state of German feeling to the Emperor Alexander. He accordingly joined the Czar in Poland, and whatever temporary estrangement existed seems to have entirely disappeared. He returned to active service, and commanded a Russian corps at the battles of Lutzen, Bautzen,

and Leipsic. He entered Paris with the Allied Sovereigns, and he accompanied them to England. There he met the Princess Charlotte for the first time, and was so fortunate as to attract her regards. Returning once more to the Continent, he was present at the Congress of Vienna, where he managed to obtain an increase of territory for his brother. The unexpected return of Napoleon recalled him to the Army of the Rhine, and with it subsequently he re-entered Paris. It was during his stay there that he received an invitation to revisit England, and to revisit it as the accepted suitor of the heiress to the throne. Sudden as the lightning the most splendid destiny flashed upon the obscure prince of a petty German province. Prince Leopold won without an effort the bride who seemed destined to the Prince of Orange, as some years later he obtained without seeking half the kingdom of the Netherlands. It was a strange fortune which thus fell to him, that he should supplant the Prince of Orange in the affections of the most coveted princess in Europe, and that, again, he should supplant both him and his father in the possession of half their kingdom.

On the 16th of March, 1816, the Prince Regent sent a message to Parliament, announcing the intended marriage of his daughter to Prince Leopold. On the 27th of the same month the fortunate prince was naturalized; he received the title of Duke of Kendal in the English peerage, and the rank of general in the army, and on the 2nd of May the marriage was celebrated at Carlton House. A year and a half of domestic happiness and repose followed, which must have been peculiarly grateful to one whose whole youth had been exposed to continual vicissitudes. He took no active part in public affairs, devoting himself entirely to study and domestic enjoyment, and foreshadowing in miniature that policy of reserve which his nephew, in the more prominent position of Prince Consort, most successfully adopted. We need not dwell on the sudden blighting of his hopes. His calamity was no less sudden than his good fortune. The Princess Charlotte died in November, 1817; but the Prince had so identified himself with the nation, and had so won their confidence, that even after the bond which attached him personally to England had been severed, he continued to be regarded by the nation as one of themselves. He resided at Claremont in the closest retirement, and before long it happened that a new object of interest arose for him. His sister had married the Duke of Kent, and in 1819 a daughter was born to

her, who, under certain not improbable contingencies, would succeed to the British throne. He gave his sister the benefit of his advice and experience. The Duchess of Kent came to England comparatively ignorant of its language and its manners, and her position here, left as she soon was a widow, with the responsibility of training up the heiress of the Crown, might have been insupportable had her brother not been at hand to assist her. For him it is difficult to imagine a history more strange, or more full of vicissitude. In one day he is master of the most splendid position in the world. In one day he is removed from his pride of place, and falls back into his original obscurity. In one day, again, there gleams upon him the hope that his sister is to be the mother of an English Sovereign, and that through her his family may rise to the first place in the eyes of Europe.

Prince Leopold did not remain many years in obscurity. In February, 1830, he was offered the kingdom of Greece. He accepted it on certain conditions which we need not recapitulate, as it was impossible to comply with them. The result of non-compliance was, that he remained in retirement at Claremont. It has been asserted that when he thus declined the Crown of Greece, he had some knowledge of the better fortune which was awaiting him. This, however, is quite impossible. The Greek Crown was declined on the 21st of May, and the revolution at Brussels did not take place till the following September. When that revolution broke forth, it was not until after the claims of the Duke of Leuchtenburg and of the Duke of Nemours were interdicted-the former by France and the latter by England-that the Belgian people turned towards Prince Leopold. In June, 1831, he was elected their King, and in July he solemnly swore to observe the constitution, and to preserve the independence and integrity of the country. He had first, however, to fight for his crown, for the Dutch had not yet consented to the severance of Belgium. King Leopold had to fight the Dutch. He was beaten at Louvain, and he was compelled to seek the assistance of the French. An army of 50,000 men came to his relief, and the King of the Netherlands withdrew his troops. In September, 1831, King Leopold opened for the first time the Legislative Chambers, and then commenced the most arduous of tasks, the organization of a new kingdom. In less than a year the nation was constituted, an army of 80,000 men was ready for the field, credit was established, and a national loan of 80,000,000 florins was negotiated. In

order still further to consolidate his position, the King married, in August, 1832, the Princess Louise, eldest daughter of King Louis Philippe. In the same year, the Dutch being still reluctant to acknowledge the independence of Belgium, active measures were taken to enforce a recognition, and Leopold, with the assistance of a French army, laid siege to and recovered Antwerp. The result was, that in May, 1833, a provisional treaty with Holland was signed, though it was not made final and definite till some years afterwards. Henceforward the King devoted himself unceasingly to the development of the internal resources of the country; and with what success those who know the high position Belgium now holds in manufactures and in commerce can testify. In 1834 the vast net-work of railways now covering Flanders was projected, and in 1837 the National Bank was established. The birth of two sons-one in 1835, and the other in 1837 (and a daughter in 1840),-gave assur ance of the stability of the dynasty; and the good government of the country is proved by the tranquillity which it has enjoyed.

When, in 1848, revolution broke out in Paris, it was feared that the sympathy which existed between France and some of the Belgian provinces might lead to an outbreak; but all fears were quickly dispelled by the conduct of the King. As soon as the news reached Brussels of what had occurred in Paris to his father-inlaw, King Leopold assembled the leaders of the different parties, reminded them of the circumstances under which he had accepted the Crown, and declared himself ready to resign it again into the hands of the nation, if the people really thought they could be more happy under a republican form of government. He added that violence was unnecessary, as he himself would like nothing better than to live in retirement at Claremont. This declaration put an end to all revolutionary ideas, if any such had ever been entertained. All parties agreed in rallying round the King, and when some insurrectionary bands crossed the French frontiers and threatened to raise disturbances, a very few troops were sufficient to put them to flight. The only question which of late years has disturbed the tranquil progress of Belgium arose in 1857, in connexion with the laws of charitable institutions. The difficulty which occurred in that year, and the temporary separation which it produced between the King and the dominant majority in the Chambers, arose solely from the desperate struggles made by the Ultramontane party to acquire

supreme power in the State. The King's prudence and energy enabled him to foil their attempts, and to curb the reactionary, as he had formerly curbed the revolutionary, party.

Leopold's position as King of the Belgians, however, sank into insignificance when compared with the part he played in the State affairs of Europe. He occupied a position in Europe which the most powerful monarch might envy. With singular unanimity he was chosen the umpire in international disputes; the grievances of hostile Governments were confidentially submitted to him; and the secrets of most Royal Houses were in his keeping. We have already quoted the title which he received of "Juge de Paix de l'Europe." The peculiar qualities of his mind, his calm, judicial intellect, his habit of close and accurate reasoning, gave him this position. England and France are deeply indebted to him. During the reign of Louis Philippe, he was the real connecting link between the two countries; and whenever an international difficulty arose, he it was who stepped in as mediator. In the disputes which arose between the two countries on the Eastern question in 1840, and in the still more irritating disputes about the Spanish marriages, he it was whose influence was brought to bear upon both parties, with the happiest results. Family circumstances, doubtless, contributed to his success, for, as son-in-law of the King of the French and uncle of Queen Victoria, he could mediate with great effect; but these advantages would have been of little service had it not been for the confidence which every Government in Europe had learnt to repose in him.

"King Leopold," says a contemporary writer, "if not a great monarch, was perhaps the wisest of his time. His intellect was more diplomatic than legislative, and he wanted the ambition of Imperial minds; but few men that care so little for power have enjoyed more.

He

had one of the smallest of kingdoms, yet he was one of the most powerful princes in Europe, and certainly he was the most trusted. His life was wonderfully calm, yet it is one of the most extraordinary romances in history."

The King's death can scarcely be said to have been unexpected. He had been long afflicted with a distressing malady, of which, however, to the honour of English surgery, he was completely cured about two years ago. It had defied the leading surgeons of the Continent, but yielded to the skill of Mr. Henry Thompson, who successfully performed the operation of lithotrity. After this remarkable

cure, it seemed as if the king, notwithstanding his great age, might still count on the enjoyment of not a few years of life. He had a strong constitution, and easily underwent fatigues from which many younger men shrink. He delighted in walking, and, to the dismay of his attendants, used to think little of twenty or thirty miles a day. Only in January last, whilst shooting at his château in the Forest of Ardennes, he might be seen for six hours a day on ten successive days tramping through the snow and defying fatigue, although he had then entered his seventy-fifth year. He was, indeed, too confident of his strength, and took liberties with it. Just before coming to England last spring, he had a slight paralytic seizure. Although he was subject to a bronchial weakness, he came to visit the Queen, careless of the weather; and he left our shores, against all advice, equally careless. Since then the papers more than once reported the state of his health as doubtful and failing.

The late King's body lay in state for three days at the Palace of Brussels, and was deposited in a vault beneath the old church at Laeken, on Saturday, December 16, the seventy-fifth anniversary of his birthday.

The late King, by his second marriage, had the following issue:-(1.) Louis-PhilipVictor-Leopold-Ernest, Prince Royal, born July 24, 1833, and died May 10, 1834. (2.) Prince Leopold-Louis-Philip-Marie-Victor, Duke of Brabant, who succeeds as King Leopold II., born April 9, 1835; married August 22, 1853, the Archduchess MariaHenrietta-Anne, second daughter of the late Archduke Joseph-Anthony-John of Austria, Palatine of Hungary, and has issue- Princess Louisa-Maria - AmeliaJane, Born February 18, 1858; Prince Leopold - Ferdinand - Élie - Victor - AlbertMarie, Count of Hainhault, born June 12, 1859; and Princess Stéphanie-ClotildeLouisa-Hermine-Marie-Charlotte, May 21, 1864. (3.) Prince Philip-EugeneFerdinand-Maria-Clement - Baldwin-Leopold-George, Count of Flanders, born March 24, 1837. (4.) Princess Mary-Charlotte Amelia - Augusta - Victoria - Člementina-Leopoldina, born June 7, 1840; married July 27, 1857, the Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, brother of the Emperor, and now Emperor of Mexico.

born

GENERAL THE RIGHT HON. SIR GEORGE BROWN, G.C.B.

This distinguished officer, whose name is familiar to most persons as the Commander of the Light Division during the

Crimean war, was the third son of George Brown, Esq., Provost of Elgin, by Miss Clark, daughter of Lord Provost Clark, of Aberdeen. He was born at Linkwood (where he died) July 3, 1790, was educated at the Elgin Academy, where he evinced a strong desire for a military life, and, though against his father's wishes, he obtained an ensigncy in the 43rd Regiment, through the influence of his uncle, Col. Brown. He joined the service in January, 1806, and became a lieutenant in the September of the same year, being then in Sicily with his corps. He served

at the siege and capture of Copenhagen in 1807, in the Peninsula from August, 1808, to July, 1811; and again from July, 1813, to May, 1814, including the battle of Vimiera, passage of the Douro, and capture of Oporto, with the previous and subsequent actions; the battle of Talavera (where he was severely wounded through both thighs), action of the Light Division at the bridge of Almeida, battle of Busaco, the different actions during the retreat of the French army from Portugal, action at Sabugal, battle of Fuentes d'Onor, siege of San Sebastian, battles of the Nivelle and Nive, and the investment of Bayonne. He served afterwards in the American war, and was present at the battle of Bladensburg and capture of Washington; he was slightly wounded in the head, and very severely in the groin, at Bladensburg, so that for some time his life was despaired of. He had become captain in 1811, major and lieutenant-colonel in 1814, and after the peace he was long employed on the staff, though he did not reach the rank of colonel till 1831. Under Lord Hill, he was made Deputy-Assistant-AdjutantGeneral, then Deputy-Adjutant-General, and lastly, on the death of Sir J. Macdonald, in 1850, he became AdjutantGeneral, under the Duke of Wellington. This office he, however, resigned, on the 12th of December, 1853, after Lord Hardinge had become General Commandingin-Chief. In 1854 the Crimean war again called him into active service, when he commanded the Light Division throughout the Eastern campaign of 1854-55, including the battles of the Alma (where he had his horse shot under him), Balaklava, and Inkermann (where he was severely wounded-shot through the arm), and siege of Sebastopol. In 1860 he was appointed to the command of the forces in Ireland, which he held for the customary period of five years, and very shortly after he fixed his residence at the house of his brother at Linkwood, where he died on the 27th of August, aged 75.

Sir George married, at Malta, in 1826, Maria, third daughter of Hugh Macdonnell, Esq., of the family of Macdonald of the Isles, who survived him. He had received the Peninsular medal with seven clasps, as also the Crimean, Turkish, and Sardinian ones, and he was a Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour. He was made Colonel of the 32nd Foot on the 1st of April, 1863, and Colonel-in-Chief of the Rifle Brigade on the 18th of April of the same year.

Sir George Brown was a soldier of the Wellington school, and was a strict disciplinarian. His manner was thought by some to be too abrupt and preremptory. But those who knew him intimately were well aware that much of this roughness was merely assumed, under the idea of supporting discipline; and it is certain that as an individual he was ever ready to do any kindness in his power. Though he enforced the Regulations" with unpalatable strictness whilst in command in the East, he was at least equally anxious to provide for the welfare of his men, and on many occasions manifested genuine warmth of heart and liberality of disposition. When cholera broke out, who more prompt in action, more energetic in command, more constant in care and attention to his men, than Sir George Brown? Like many good-hearted men, he disliked his own good-nature, and covered it in with a cloak of asperity. He would use harsh language to any one who suspected him of being benevolent. No wonder if he was the victim of his own injustice to himself, and created unfavourable impressions which a closer acquaintance would have removed.

RICHARD COBDEN, ESQ., M.P.

This deceased statesman, who has left a name that will be remembered as long and as gratefully as that of any of his political contemporaries, came of a family of yeomen long settled in Sussex, was the son of Mr. William Cobden, a farmer, and was born at the farm-house of Dunford, near Midhurst, June 3, 1804. He received his education at the grammar-school of Midhurst, and on the death of his father he was sent to London, where he served an apprenticeship in a Manchester warehouse, and afterwards became one of the travellers for the firm. In 1830 he joined with some relatives who were established in Lancashire, and speedily introduced a new system of business into the cotton print trade. At the time when he first began his career as a public man his share

of profits was not much short of 90007. per annum, so successful had been the management of the "Cobden prints." He travelled occasionally on the Continent in the interest of the firm, visiting Greece, Egypt, and Turkey in 1834, and the United States in the following year. On his return he began what may be called his literary career, by addressing several letters, anonymously, on political and economical topics to the Manchester Times." He also published a pamphlet, entitled, "England, Ireland, and America, by a Manchester Manufacturer." The views which have now become so familiar in connexion with his name were boldly stated and enforced in this his earliest work. Its publication produced a lively controversy, and several answers were made to it. His views then were, as they remained up to the latest moment of his life, that peace, retrenchment, non-intervention, and free trade, were the true policy for England. The first pamphlet was speedily followed by another, entitled, "Russia," on the title-page of which he again described himself as "a Manchester Manufacturer." The same views were again forcibly stated and illustrated, and what he regarded as misconceptions concerning the Eastern question were denounced in unsparing terms.

It was about this time that the policy of the Corn Laws began to be called in question. The Anti-Corn-Law League was established in Manchester in 1838; neither Mr. Cobden nor Mr. Bright were original members, but when they did join, they infused an immense amount of fresh energy. The country was divided into districts, subscriptions were raised and lecturers were appointed, but the chief interest centred in the peregrinations of Mr. Cobden, Mr. Bright, and one or two other men of like mind, whose exertions were extraordinary. Mr. Cobden offered himself for Stockport as early as the dissolution which followed the death of William IV. in 1837, but he was then defeated by a manufacturer of the town. At the following dissolution, however, in 1841, when Lord Melbourne made his appeal to the country in favour of a fixed duty on corn, Mr. Cobden offered himself again, and was this time successful. Of course he took every opportunity of advocating his views; and one of his impassioned speeches led to a singular scene. Soon after Sir Robert Peel came into power in that Parliament, his private secretary, Mr. Drummond, was shot by a madman, of the name of MNaghten, in mistake for Sir Robert himself. The circumstance naturally made a deep impression on Sir Robert's mind; and when

in the course of a free-trade debate Mr Cobden had warned the Ministers of the "personal responsibility" they incurred by refusing the free importation of corn, Sir Robert rose in a state of great excitement and accused Mr. Cobden of inciting to assassination. This, of course, was indignantly denied; but the agitation was kept up, the Minister at length gave way, and the Corn Laws were repealed. As soon as the contest was over, a proposal was made to raise 100,000l. by way of subscription in recognition of the services of Mr. Cobden in the cause, by which it was well understood his own private affairs had become impaired The proposal was warmly taken up in various quarters, and though the sanguine anticipations of its promoters were not realized, the handsome sum of 70,000l. was raised, with a portion of which the small property at Midhurst, on which he had worked when a boy, was purchased for him, while the remainder was invested by Mr. Cobden himself in American railway stock. The passing of the Corn Law Repeal Bill was the last act of the Peel Ministry, and the Cabinet went out of office on the day the Royal assent was given. Lord John Russell became Premier, and he intimated a wish to see Mr. Cobden a member of the Government, but the offer was declined. His popularity was great, and the constituency of the West Riding returned him to Parliament as one of their representatives without a contest. This seat he retained for ten or eleven years, devoting himself during the whole period to the advocacy of Radical views, and occasionally reverting to his early habits of itinerating agitation in the country districts, and advocating parliamentary reform, freehold land societies, &c.

To the Derby Government of 1852 and its successors, the Coalition Cabinet of Lords Aberdeen, Clarendon, and others, Mr. Cobden gave his decided opposition, and the war with Russia which soon followed was condemned by him in terms that gave some offence to the nation in general; and though he succeeded in causing a dissolution of Parliament in 1857 by carrying a vote condemning the proceedings of Sir John Bowring in China, his course was so distasteful to his Yorkshire constituents that he did not offer himself again for the West Riding. He became, however, a candidate for the town of Huddersfield, but was beaten by his opponent. For the next two years Mr. Cobden remained out of Parliament, and spent a good portion of the time abroad recruiting his health. But at the next general election, in 1859, when Mr. Cobden was in the United