Chapter III: The Creation of Belgium

The Whigs in office--Talleyrand insists upon the necessity
of establishing a good understanding with England--Palmerston's
distrust of the French Liberals--State of Europe--Revolution
at Warsaw--"The Frenchmen of the North"--Belgium declared
independent and neutral--Candidates for the Belgian
throne--Bresson and Ponsonby at Brussels--British government
will treat as a case for war the enthronement of a French
prince--Flahaut in London--Lawoëstine at Brussels--The
Duc de Nemours elected King of the Belgians--Critical
situation--Louis Philippe declines the throne for his
son--Proceedings of Bresson--Anger of Talleyrand--Casimir
Périer forms a government--War in Poland and insurrection
in the Papal States--The Austrians at Bologna--Leopold of
Saxe-Coburg--Dissatisfaction of the Belgians--Reluctance of
French government to see coercion applied to the Belgians--The
protocol of 18 articles accepted by Belgium, refused by
Holland--Leopold enthroned--Roussin at Lisbon--The Dutch invade
Belgium--French army enters Belgium--Palmerston's suspicions
of Talleyrand--Stockmar's suspicions of Palmerston--Excitement
in London--Talleyrand's warning--Why the French army
remained in Belgium--King Leopold's dilemma--The French
evacuate Belgium--Londonderry attacks Talleyrand in the
House of Lords--"_l'ordre règne à Varsovie_"--Palmerston's
despatch on the Polish question--The treaty of the 24
articles--The Fortress Convention--Talleyrand's advice--French
threaten King Leopold--Palmerston stands firm--Casimir
Périer gives way--Austrians re-occupy Bologna--The
French at Ancona--Palmerston exerts himself to avert a
rupture--Solution of the difficulty--Orloff's mission to the
Hague--Lamb furnishes Palmerston with a copy of Orloff's
secret instructions--Austria and Prussia ratify--Orloff in
London--Russia ratifies with certain reservations 40-117