POTTER United Families

In his Souvenirs Louis compared the two kings; Charles X, a
conservative man, hating liberty, who did not want us to be further
persecuted and King Willem, an intolerant anti-jesuit, hating freedom
of opinion. And the union of people who want the same thing is so
natural, liberty or despotism, whatever their personal beliefs and
principles.
Louis said that before the trials, neither he or Tielemans had met
Bartels or de Neve. All became friends with the revolt and he
particularly enjoyed the company of Bartels. Together, exiled from
their beloved homeland, they were already preparing a new dream,
re-inventing a country for the forgotten brave Belgians !
The group left Brussels in a horse coach on June 7, 1830, for AixlaChapelle,
but was turned back by the Prussians and had to return
to the Belgian border town of Valls. There they stayed for almost two
months, until finally they received permission to cross Prussia and
reside in Lausanne, Switzerland.
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