Some may consider that Belgium has not reaped important advantages from the treaty of Versailles, and may be inclined to compare the small territories of the Walloon districts of Eupen and Malmedy with the efforts made during the last few years. But, quite apart from economic indemnities, which may prove a great asset if they materialize, Belgium has conquered a far more valuable possession than any territory could give. For the first time in modern history she has received full recognition. She is at last allowed to make friends with her friends and to beware of her enemies, if she has any reason to fear them. Through the bitter struggle of the last few years Belgium has conquered what other nations might consider as their birthright--the right to be herself, the master of her fate, the captain of her soul. It becomes more and more apparent to foreign consciousness that her future is bound up with that of Europe. Her welfare will be Europe's welfare, her ruin, the ruin of Western civilization and Christianity. Unless through the League of Nations, or through any other means, justice prevails in international relations, the history of her tribulations is not yet closed, for only under a regime of justice may the weak hope to live in freedom and in peace. Among the pantheon of monuments erected by modern Belgium to the heroes of her past history, the stranger will find, with some surprise, in the midst of the Place Royale in Brussels, an equestrian statue of Godfrey of Bouillon, who, nine centuries ago, sold his land to join the first crusade, and who refused to wear a crown of gold where his Saviour had worn a crown of thorns. Quite close stands the Palace where another Belgian prince returned lately, after four years' incessant labour at the side of his soldiers amid the sodden fields of Flanders. There is a great contrast between the civilization of the eleventh and that of the twentieth century, between the Great Adventure sought by the old crusaders and the Great War forced on Western Europe, between the mystic idealism of the Middle Ages and the practical idealism of modern times. On both occasions, however, Belgium was placed in the van, and found in Godfrey IV and Albert I two leaders whose courage and dignity will stand as the purest symbol of chivalry and national honour. INDEX Administration, 106, 107, 119, 125, 126, 145, 152, 155, 188, 209, 211, 261, 265, 269, 277, 278, 286, 315, 317, 340, 345 Aerschot, Duke of, 193 Agadir, 312, 313 Agriculture, 74, 75, 122, 167, 214, 215, 216, 247, 276, 320, 323 Aix-la-Chapelle, 43, 44, 248 Treaty of, 238, 239 Alba, Duke of, 183, 184, 189, 208 Albert, Archduke, 139, 152, 204, 205, 206, 208, 209, 210, 217, 218, 220, 228 Albert I, 310, 342, 343, 348 Algeciras, 313 Alost, 90, 165, 169, 188 Alsace-- House of, 80 Philip of, 80, 81, 89, 97 Thierry of, 73, 80, 89 Amiens, Peace of, 276 Anabaptism, 168, 171, 172 Anjou, Duke of, 193, 194, 195, 200, 201, 202