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that the king says would serve well as transports in time of war, though what they would transport isbeyond me. Maybe he will mobilise the police into an army unit if needs must!21st June 1843Ah, Louise's birthday, not that I should care any more. We went our separate ways many years ago andMother's letter at Christmas indicated that, rich widow that she now is, she is being wooed by one ofthe Grenvilles. But we shared a while together, so sometimes my heart still wakes and thinks of her.News travels so slowly here, that we have only just heard that Flanders has demanded recompensefrom Hamburg for debts that the former Hansa state owes them. Nobody is clear how it is thatHamburg has defaulted, bankruptcy is even rumoured. Here, money is so scarce that nobody wouldeven dare to suggest frittering it away. But where money is plentiful, people keep less of an eye on it,and sometimes find it has all gone. The Duke of Peterborough can attest to that! Maybe Hamburg canalso.The actions of Flanders of course gain a lot of attention here. The king apparently denounced the newsas petty warmongering, though one wonders how much of that is jealousy! His Majesty of courseclaims Flanders for his own, as he does the provinces annexed by France. But even in Brussels, andcertainly in Paris, the claims of this nation calling itself Belgium are laughed at. Perhaps one day.though - who can tell?23rd July 1843The king and court are ecstatic! News has arrived from Europe that Prussia has sided with Hamburg.The forces of Flanders are reeling. Surely, these events began some months ago, and maybe they haveeven reached a conclusion that we will not learn of until the Summer is out. But these things can taketime, so perhaps the fighting is still ongoing?Some have been swept away by the excitement of the moment to descend into insanity. There is talkthat if Flanders loses too badly, there will be a rising in the name of Belgium! Some are even lookingto charter ships to sail back in victory. I do not think the king shares that degree of hope, but hope iscertainly in the air.For my part, I think that if revolution comes to Flanders it will be anarchists that will be at theforefront, to make of Flanders a state unto their own desires, and not a harking back to the glory daysof Belgium.25th September 1843This year I entrusted Father's present to the Hannoverian ambassador who was returning home, viaLondon. If anybody will get it safely to Father then Count Ludwig will. And what do I speak of? Onemight well ask! It is a fantastic ivory carving, from the tusks of elephants that pass through here intrade, and carved not by some heathen African (I would not impose that on Father!) but by an ancientWalloon, resident in the dockside, a man of few words but skilful hands. I think Father will be pleased- he certainly cannot say that I lack originality of thought this year!What news from Europe? The war still rages, last we heard. Prussia has blockaded Flanders butBrussels refuses, so far as we know, to throw in the towel. There is news too of war in Northern Italy -the Swiss and the Venetians have made common cause against the Milanese. Such places, such wars,