innovate-issue-005

een in Latin it would have been in French, or Flemish - I can be thankful it was in Latin, for we areall educated in that! A service in French would have sat ill indeed, whereas one in Flemish would havebeen completely unintelligible. Apart from the prayers for the Pope, replacing in a sense those for HerMajesty, the service could have been any service back home - albeit in Latin, but I explained theadvantage of that.23rd April 1846There is political agitation here. I would be tempted to see it as a letting off of steam, a reaction tofailed hopes and the general ennui that can take hold here if one is not careful. A fortnight ago, aFlemish organisation presented a petition to the king demanding equal rights for their language, for allthat it has always been treated with respect. The king reportedly asked the Lord High Chamberlainwhether the court could afford to print all decrees in Flemish as well as French! It is no doubt anunnecessary additional expense!Yesterday a few hundred men and women, and not a small number of children, marched through thecity under banners borrowed from newspaper articles on the so-called Chartists who have sprung upacross the nations back in Europe. One was uncertain what the marchers were demanding - in fact,speaking to a couple in one of the small inns near the palace later, I got the distinct impression that themarchers did not know exactly what they wanted.Representation I hear, but they have the assembly and I have been here long enough to have seen anelection, although it seems I forbore to comment upon it. Quite probably, this is nothing more than anoutlet for exasperation and will soon pass, but it was worthy of note, in its own way.23rd July 1846Apparently Bolivia won the war in South America, against Brazilian aggression. I have failed to find asingle person here who understood what the war was all about, but a Venetian merchantman out ofBuenos Aires brought us news of peace.Of greater excitement here, is the news that Flanders has engaged in a punitive expedition againstLubeck , apparently another one-time Hansa port unable to manage its finances successfully. There isno information on how well the intervention is going, or on Prussia's intentions this time around. Somehere hope that Berlin will act again, and this time do more than bloody Brussels's nose. Others have acertain pride in the action of Flanders and cannot but help to support them in their action against aNorth German state.One cannot think that things will really end well.25th December 1846The Prussian ambassador's party tonight was without doubt the best of the lot. I was not alone in tryingto pump him for information about events back home. Many of the Belgians wanted reassurance thatPrussia would, or would not, intervene against Flanders in their war with Lubeck. But the old countdeclined to comment, and I am left thinking that Prussia feels no need to interfere, for Flanders isdoing badly enough on its own.Captain Sven Larsen of the Swedish merchantman Scania was a guest of his country's ambassador atthe party, and took great pleasure in informing us that Sweden and Russia are winning in their war