"The great and noble people over whose destinies you preside have just given another proof of its benevolent sentiments towards this country. The voice of the English nation has been heard above the din of arms. It has asserted the principles of justice and right. Next to the unalterable attachment of the Belgian people to their independence, the strongest sentiment which fills their hearts is that of an imperishable gratitude to the people of Great Britain." [Footnote 101: _Brūzh_, 63 miles north-west of Brussels, 8 miles inland from the North Sea, with which it is connected by two canals. From the 12th to the 16th century Bruges was the largest business city of Northern Europe. It is now a quiet, quaint old city, with many ancient and interesting buildings.] [Footnote 102: Sound the _g_ hard; 32 miles north-west of Brussels, on the rivers Scheldt and Lys (_leese_). It is divided by canals into some forty islands, and has over two hundred bridges. Though it is now a manufacturing place, it preserves its ancient appearance, and is a most interesting city.] [Footnote 103: _Ep´r´_, 32 miles by rail south-south-west of Bruges. Its Cloth Hall and St. Martin's Church date from the thirteenth century.] [Footnote 104: _Skelt_, rises in department Aisne, France, and enters the North Sea by two main channels formed by islands, the outermost of which is Walcheren. Length, 250 miles, 210 of which are navigable.] [Footnote 105: Rises in the French department of Pas de Calais, and flows north-east through Belgium, to join the Scheldt at Ghent.] [Footnote 106: Rises in French department of Haute Marne, flows mainly north-east, north, north-west, and west for 500 miles. In Holland it joins the left arm of the Rhine. The river is navigable from the sea to Verdun, some 135 miles from its source.] [Footnote 107: Town on right bank of the Meuse, 17 miles by rail south by east of Namur. In the fifteenth century it was a busy manufacturing town, but prior to the war was a quiet tourist resort. The citadel stands on a cliff 300 feet above the river.] [Footnote 108: _Na-mur´_, strongly fortified town, at the confluence of the Sambre and Meuse. The citadel stands on a height in the angle between the rivers, and the place was, before the war, encircled by nine forts on high ground, from 3 to 5 miles apart.] [Footnote 109: _Sān'br´_, tributary of the Meuse. It rises in French department of Aisne, and becomes navigable 19 miles from its source.] [Footnote 110: _Le-āzh´_, 50 miles east by south of Brussels.] [Footnote 111: _Ar-den´_, wooded hill region between the Meuse and the Moselle; general elevation, 1,800 feet.] [Footnote 112: State of taking no part on either of two sides. Belgium, by treaty, must never take sides in any war that is waged, and the Great Powers guarantee that she shall not be conquered. She can, of course, resist an invader.] CHAPTER X. A TERRIBLE STRUGGLE.