Excerpt from Across America With the King of the Belgians I must confess that two months ago I had not the slightest intention of writing this book. I thought I had satisfied my need for expression in newspaper articles and lectures. But as the days go by, souvenirs come back and more mature im pressions are born again. The splendor Of that journey still haunts my memory, like that shepherd in the Provencal legend who, after having looked too long at the sun, kept some of its light in his eyes. My ears still have the echo of a great applause. I shall endeavor therefore to bring back some image of all this by noting day by day from the very beginning the impressions and Observations made on His Majesty's trip through the great American Republic. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
PREFACE. THE Author of this very practical treatise on Scotch Loch - Fishing desires clearly that it may be of use to all who had it. He does not pretend to have written anything new, but to have attempted to put what he has to say in as readable a form as possible. Everything in the way of the history and habits of fish has been studiously avoided, and technicalities have been used as sparingly as possible. The writing of this book has afforded him pleasure in his leisure moments, and that pleasure would be much increased if he knew that the perusal of it would create any bond of sympathy between himself and the angling community in general. This section is interleaved with blank shects for the readers notes. The Author need hardly say that any suggestions addressed to the case of the publishers, will meet with consideration in a future edition. We do not pretend to write or enlarge upon a new subject. Much has been said and written-and well said and written too on the art of fishing but loch-fishing has been rather looked upon as a second-rate performance, and to dispel this idea is one of the objects for which this present treatise has been written. Far be it from us to say anything against fishing, lawfully practised in any form but many pent up in our large towns will bear us out when me say that, on the whole, a days loch-fishing is the most convenient. One great matter is, that the loch-fisher is depend- ent on nothing but enough wind to curl the water, -and on a large loch it is very seldom that a dead calm prevails all day, -and can make his arrangements for a day, weeks beforehand whereas the stream- fisher is dependent for a good take on the state of the water and however pleasant and easy it may be for one living near the banks of a good trout stream or river, it is quite another matter to arrange for a days river-fishing, if one is looking forward to a holiday at a date some weeks ahead. Providence may favour the expectant angler with a good day, and the water in order but experience has taught most of us that the good days are in the minority, and that, as is the case with our rapid running streams, -such as many of our northern streams are, -the water is either too large or too small, unless, as previously remarked, you live near at hand, and can catch it at its best. A common belief in regard to loch-fishing is, that the tyro and the experienced angler have nearly the same chance in fishing, -the one from the stern and the other from the bow of the same boat. Of all the absurd beliefs as to loch-fishing, this is one of the most absurd. Try it. Give the tyro either end of the boat he likes give him a cast of ally flies he may fancy, or even a cast similar to those which a crack may be using and if he catches one for every three the other has, he may consider himself very lucky. Of course there are lochs where the fish are not abundant, and a beginner may come across as many as an older fisher but we speak of lochs where there are fish to be caught, and where each has a fair chance. Again, it is said that the boatman has as much to do with catching trout in a loch as the angler. Well, we dont deny that. In an untried loch it is necessary to have the guidance of a good boatman but the same argument holds good as to stream-fishing...
With an introduction by award-winning novelist Barbara Kingsolver In the late nineteenth century, when the great powers in Europe were tearing Africa apart and seizing ownership of land for themselves, King Leopold of Belgium took hold of the vast and mostly unexplored territory surrounding the Congo River. In his devastatingly barbarous colonization of this area, Leopold stole its rubber and ivory, pummelled its people and set up a ruthless regime that would reduce the population by half. . While he did all this, he carefully constructed an image of himself as a deeply feeling humanitarian. Winner of the Duff Cooper Prize in 1999, King Leopold’s Ghost is the true and haunting account of this man’s brutal regime and its lasting effect on a ruined nation. It is also the inspiring and deeply moving account of a handful of missionaries and other idealists who travelled to Africa and unwittingly found themselves in the middle of a gruesome holocaust. Instead of turning away, these brave few chose to stand up against Leopold. Adam Hochschild brings life to this largely untold story and, crucially, casts blame on those responsible for this atrocity.
Excerpt from King Leopold II: His Rule in Belgium and the Congo Nothing is more absurd than this theory. In a constitutional monarchy the king's place is well defined, but the king's place is ever that of a ruler, and his first duty is to rule. If he be a weak man his rule will be feeble, if he be a vicious man his mle will be bad but, strong or feeble, a king cannot but fix his imprint on his country, and he it is who himself produces for his reign its result, good, bad, or indifferent, according to his abilities and his will. Whatever the limits of the constitution, it is in evitable that on many, and these the most vital, points of government the king's voice must be most powerful in the councils of his country. The history of the nineteenth century, now Opening to the world, proves that this was so, even when the middle-class power was at its highest; and beside the proof of his tory, common-sense Shows that it must be so, as long as kings remain. In a free country, during a single reign, thousands of politicians, hundreds of ministers. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
Excerpt from Belgium, Her Kings, Kingdom People During the twelve years' continuous residence in Brussels in which I have made researches and collected materials for this work it has been my good fortune to have met and discussed Belgian questions with men of every rank, of every party, and of every calling. All have spoken to me freely to all I owe gratitude. August personages, inspired with hereditary affection for England, whence Belgium's first King came, have shown me what are the feelings and aspirations of this country, which must no longer be called a little state. Archives have been opened for me, and the Ministers for Foreign and Home Affairs, of Justice, of Industry and Labour, and the Permanent under-secretaries of the various departments have shown me a courtesy so great and borne so well with my incessant demands for information, that I can find no words sufficient in which to express my thanks to them. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
Excerpt from The Story of the Congo Free State: Social, Political, and Economic Aspects of the Belgian System of Government in Central Africa Having obtained an introduction to the King of the Belgians, I informed his Majesty that I believed the American people would much esteem the true history of the affairs of the Congo written by an American, and that if his Majesty would grant me access to the archives of the Administration of the Congo Free State in Brussels, and leave me free to write the story of his enterprise in my own way, absolutely without interference or suggestion from any of his ministers or himself, I would undertake the task on my own account. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
Excerpt from The Spell of Belgium This version has been translated directly from the Flemish, and is believed to be unknown to the world, outside of Antwerp literary circles. I wish to thank Her Excellency, Madame Havenith, wife of the Belgian Minister in the United States, for information, letters and photographs, and Mrs. Abbot L. Dow, whose father, General Sanford, was one of the most popular American Ministers ever in Belgium, as well as Miss Helen North, who lived for many years in that beautiful country. I wish, also, to thank the National Magazine for the use of a portion of the chapter on Motoring in Flanders. My thanks are due to Miss Gilman and Miss Crosby, too, for their kind assistance. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
Excerpt from The Way of Honour There is nothing simpler than the position of Belgium in the present war. Faced, on the 2nd of August 1914 with the choice between what her own immediate interests seemed to dictate and what honour demanded, she did not hesitate. Since then all that she has lost and suffered, all that she still suffers every day, she has lost and suffered through loyalty to her duty. Nothing simpler. But nothing, on the other hand, more splendid. The cause of this country lost, upon that day, its purely national character. To use M. Paul Deschanel's words, Belgium has become "the pledge of International Righteousness." How are we to conceive that peace should ever again be mutually agreed upon by the nations of the earth, that is to say, that treaties and agreements should ever henceforth be made between them, unless, first of all, faith in the given word, which has been betrayed and shaken by the flagrant violation of Belgium's rights, shall have been restored to the world by the punishment of that violation? About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
