the Belgian characters are very different.  We do not always understand each other.  But in the main the Belgians know that we shall share our food with them until the last, that in every way we shall make them as comfortable as we can.  We are not a very graceful people.  We often lack a certain charm of manner.  The little potentates who are the Mayors of our small frontier towns are not always very tactful.  But these things are minor matters.  Holland is the natural place of refuge for her southern neighbors, and as long as they suffer from the German domination they know that with us they are safe.  But should we have gone with the Allies when the Belgians suffered through no fault of their own?

For France there is in Holland the greatest personal sympathy.  But she is far away from Holland.  The direct issue is between England and Germany.  The Hollander likes England, fashions his life as much as possible after the English pattern, prefers to do business with English people.  Yet is there any reason why Holland should make the possible sacrifice of her own existence for the benefit of England?

Will Mr. Wells kindly glance through his history and see what we as a nation have suffered at the hands of England?

During three centuries we fought with England about a principle laid down by Grotius of Delft.  We claimed that the sea was an open highway, free to all navigators.  England used her best legal talent to prove the contrary.  In this struggle we exhausted ourselves and we finally lost.  Incidentally we saw our richest colonies go into the possession of England.  The very colony in which I am writing this letter was taken from us in time of peace.  Of course all this is past history and no Hollander is going to accuse an Englishman of acts committed by his great-grandfather.  But the people will remember all those things, however vaguely, and they will distrust the nation that has constantly done them harm.  We gave England her best King, (if one is to believe Mr. Macaulay.) William III. in order to destroy the power of Louis XIV., and greatly for the benefit of England incidentally, did the greatest harm to the country of his origin.  After 1715, totally exhausted, we were obliged to see how England got ahead of us.

Then there are some other small items.  I take one at random.  While the Duke of Wellington danced the polka in Brussels the Prince of Orange with a small Dutch army stopped Napoleon’s progress at Quatre Bras, and by disobeying the orders of the British commander saved the army of the allies and made the victory of Waterloo possible.  Our thanks for this self-sacrifice was the mild abuse of Mr. Thackeray and other gentlemen who have ever since laughed at the clumsy Dutch troops who in truth so valiantly assisted the British and Prussians.  In this matter a little more generosity on the part of British historians would have made us feel more cordial toward our English neighbors.  It was ever