[98] The 30th September 1790.
[99] The Comte de Browne took back Brussels from the Belgian patriots with a few companies of grenadiers and a handful of hussars. By dint of care, firmness, and gold, which he distributed in handfuls, he so completely re-established order and security in the town that it became more quiet, more submissive, and more prosperous than it ever had been. (Unpublished Memoirs of the Prince de Ligne.)
[100] This phrase shows that the Count had not sent Hélène the Prince’s letter, in which he offered her one of his residences as a retreat.
[101] The Bishop of Wilna’s steward.
[102] A halfpenny.
[103] The Cossacks inhabited the plains of Ukrania, and the borders of the Borysthenes (Dniester). These savage hordes, who lived by plunder and pillage, were sometimes called Zaporogues (inhabitants of the cataracts). Most of the Polish noblemen in this part of the country had in their pay some hundreds of these brigands, who caused the greatest terror. They belonged to those who paid them best, and the cruelties committed by the Cossacks in Catherine’s pay during the massacres in Ukrania exceeded the greatest horrors that can be imagined. (See, for more ample details, Comte de la Garde’s Voyage in Ukrania.)
XII
Return of the Princes to Mons—Emigration in Belgium—A representation of Richard Cœur de Lion—Prince Charles re-enters the Austrian service—He represents the Emperor on his inauguration as Count of Hainault—War with France—Dumouriez in Champagne—The fight at Croix-aux-Bois—Death of Prince Charles—Despair of the Prince de Ligne.
The pacification of Flanders was an accomplished fact, and in 1791 the Prince de Ligne, accompanied by Prince Charles, officially entered Mons as Grand Bailiff of Hainault. A magnificent banquet, followed by a concert and a ball, was given in their honour by the States of Hainault, in the Town Hall.[104]
Several poems were presented to the Prince de Ligne by the students of the college of Houdain and others. It is unnecessary to say that the virtues of the Prince and the glory of his son were the chosen theme.