Among the hills of eastern Belgium there lives a race of men--vivacious and hardy, immensely proud of their ancient origin, who are descended from one of the Gallic tribes conquered by the Romans twenty centuries ago. These interesting people--they are called Walloons--inherited from their conquerors a Romanic dialect which they made their own. Though more like French than any other language, it can scarcely be understood by natives of France. However, in modern times, French has supplanted the dialect of Wallonia, except in intimate intercourse, and is the chosen tongue of the professional classes throughout most of Belgium. West of the Maas (Meuse) River Valley stretch the plains of the Flemings--stout, hardworking sons of Teutons and Franks who in the Romans’ time overran the basin of the Scheldt and its treeless barrens. These, for the most part, know only Flemish, the language of Flanders--a richly expressive, unlovely-sounding tongue, closely related to Dutch and German. Walloons and Flemish were often on opposite sides of the battlefield, until the provinces were united five centuries ago under Philip the Good of Burgundy. Since then, they have been divided by no issue of vital importance except that of language. For many years French was the language of the Belgian Government and press, of universities and men of learning. Walloons employed only French, while few of the north Belgium peasants would use any language but that of Flanders. This lingual barrier between a people having the same national ideals is an ever-present cause of contention and misunderstanding. Suppose half the inhabitants of Ohio refused to learn the language of the other half, and each section was constantly on the alert to exalt its own tongue. Picture the possibilities of conflict and jealousy among a people otherwise closely allied, with the same government, and with daily interchange of interests. Less than one-seventh of the Belgian population are able to speak both French and Flemish. The remaining six-sevenths are about equally divided between those that know only their own tongue--and object on principle to learning the tongue the other half speak.