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964 THE LEADER. [No. 491. Aug. 20, 1859....
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LITERATURE.
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LITERARY NOTES OF THE WEEK.
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¦ ? —— • ¦ . ' ¦ WE have been requested ...
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the three provinces not a single man tai...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Victor Emmanuel At Milan. Kino Victor Em...
eerned , but of those whose interests were threatened . The departure of Henry IV . for the war against Austria , to which he had made allusion in the midst of his court nearly six months before , was fixed for May 17 , 1610 . On the 14 th the poignard of Ravaillac cut short at once the designs and the life of the great prince . The widow of Henry , Concini his minister , and others who had influence at court , supplanted Sully , and disappointed all the hopes entertained of the permanent arrangement of Italian affairs .
The offensive alliance between France and Sardinia was destined , 125 years later , t o renew these hopes . Xouis XV ,, at the finest period of his life , almost in spite of his minister , Fleury , determined to take up arms against Austria , who opposed the election of his brother-in-law , Stanislaus Leczinski , as King of Poland . This time the movement was not limited to bare projects . Charles Emmanuel made his entry into Milan November 4 , 1733 , and for two years possessed the kingdom of Lombardy as far as the Oglio . The causes owing to which Lombardy again fell into the hands of Austria must be sought in the ignorance or incapacity of Charles Emmanuel m . to . manage the public affairs confided to him by a junta of Government . He was wanting in the courage and vigour required to unite and amalgamate them fearlessly with those of Piedmont .
Under this prince the French feigned in Lombardy as masters , and the allies , instead of waiting to possess themselves of the embouchures of the Tyrol , employed themselves in besieging and reducing a number of small places in the provinces of Brescia and Lodi . Thus the new acquisition was compromised , the loss of the kingdom prepared , and , as a consequence , at the peace of Venice in 1 ' 7 £ 8 only Nbvara and Tartona remainedunited to Piedmont . During subsequent years fresh negotiations promised the annexation of Lombardy to the royal house of Savoy in the war of the Austrian succession from . 1 . 741 ' to . 1748 . The famous project of the Marquis of Argenson , already accepted by tile King of Sardinia ,
failed , in 1745 , in consequence of the tardy adhesion of Sardinia , when the presence of the imperial armies and the fear of losing Alessandria induced Charles Emmanuel IE . to seek safety in a league with Maria Theresa . But even in the definitive treaties for the peace of Aquisgrana far larger annexations were spoken of than were made , and that ' part of the Milanese which was ceded to Sardinia prospered so greatly under its new rulers , that the desire was most strongly felt by the remainder of the Lombardian population of being united to Sardinia . Modern times have not originated but have certainly developed the aspirations of Upper Italy for a fusion . These aspirations ,
which historians have been in the habit of attributing solely to ambition on the part of the House of Savoy , were bat the manifestations of a national ¦ want . That invasive policy which sometimes by its ¦ fin esse and refinement assumed an equivocal character , and by which the Sardinian court sought to supply the want of material force with a political perseverance , of which no similar example can be adduced , was not professed , alone by its princes . Piedmont realised the future destinies of Italy , and if the past condition of this country looks humble , compared with the splendid history of Venice , of Genoa , or of Florence , its strong military constitution sufficed for ail purposes , and became the basis
of a State which , perhaps alone in Italy , contains the elements required to form a great modern state . The expansive movement which characterised the Sub & lpine policy of the last three centuries was not dynastic alone but popular' as well ; and its fruits , which , though late , are beginning 1 to be gathered in the present age , clearly prove its utility to the Italian nation . The desire for the union of Lornbardy with Sardinia having thus been seen to exist for so long a period , it can excite little surprise that this portion of the arrangements , effected between the Emperors at Villafranca , should have been hailed with delight and approbation . The reception given to Victor Emmanuel affords a mighty contrast to that accorded by the Milanoso to the Austrian Emperors . The king seemed to desire to make the contrast as striking as possible . The Austrian
rulers of Lombardy have alwaya in their visits been preceded , accompanied and followed by entire armies . Victor Emmanuel refused to be escorted by a single troop . The Milanese hoped he would enter the city at the head of the first division , which was stationed at Monza . Had such been the case , the heroes of Palestro and San Marfcino would have been secure of a hearty welcome ; but the King is said to have thus expressed himself :- — " I will not present myself to my Milanese subjects with the ostentation of a conqueror , but with the simplicity of a father amidst his children , " Titfa saying quickly spread throughout the city , was commented upon in the sense most favourable to their new sovereign , and produced that wellng of gratitude and confidence which have marked the conduct of the Milanoso during the present festivities .
964 The Leader. [No. 491. Aug. 20, 1859....
964 THE LEADER . [ No . 491 . Aug . 20 , 1859 .
Literature.
LITERATURE .
Literary Notes Of The Week.
LITERARY NOTES OF THE WEEK .
¦ ? —— • ¦ . ' ¦ We Have Been Requested ...
¦ ? —— ¦ . ' ¦ WE have been requested and authorised to state that no negotiations are on foot for the sale of the Literary Gazette to the proprietors of the Critic , or to any other person or persons . Our congratulations to our veteran contemporary were , therefore , uncalled for , but we should not have tendered them , had we not had considerable reliance on the reporter of the on dit , which turns out to be what , indeed , we reported it as , a mere rumour . A Petersburg correspondent of a contemporary , after alluding to various measures of reform which have been adopted by the Russian Government , remarks upon the impulse which has been given to journalism by the liberal measures which have been adopted since the accession of Alexander II . He says i—At this moment there are 50 or 60 daily , weekly , and monthly papers published at St . Pewritten in
tersburg , three-quarters of which are Russian , and by far the greater portion started since the war . The most reliable information and the most free discussion are to be found in the Russian rather than in the French or German papers . The Government seems anxious that the internal condition of the empire should be fully discussed at home , without permitting the rest of Europe to take part in the debate . Russian local papers are also to be found throughout the entire empire ; indeed , there is hardly a Government without one . In the St . Petersburg papers we find pretty fair reports of the proceedings in the English Parliament ) translations of articles from the Times , accounts of the late war in Italy , comments on home and foreign affairs , & c . _ ¦ ¦ _ " ¦ ¦ ¦ of Uncle
Mrs . Beecher Stowe , the author Tom ' s Cabin , is now in England , engaged upon her new tale , a portion of which has already appeared under the title of " The Minister ' s Wooing , " This title will be retained for the complete work , which may be expected about the 1 st of OctobeF , and the serial publication will be continued as heretofore until completed . . Alexandre Dumas , says a Paris letter , has been so baited by envious critics that their satire has sharpened his sight , and made him see the good ship , which he has bought from the Greek merchant , entering Marseilles at last . He immediately began to pack up , and the Circassian youth , —living proof and outward and visible sign of the truth of his visit to Scharayl , his carrying off a beautiful Circassian girl , ht several bandof robbers
and his having put to flig s with the canine given him by the gifted chief—was ready to accompany him when , in . compliance with the prayers of his friends , he agreed with them that the season was too far advanced to undertake the journey this year ; so the ship he has bought and the Circassian youth are laid up in harbour once more ; and , with his usual industry and endurance of disappointment , Alexandre has set seriously to work on the description of the places which an untoward fate prevents him from beholding . King Victor Emmanuel signed a decree on the 3 rd inst ., at Milan , appointing the celebrated Alessandro Manzoni President of the Institute , with an annual pension of 12 , 000 f ., " as a national recompense , "
The Three Provinces Not A Single Man Tai...
the three provinces not a single man tainted with heresy could be found , unless he had come clandestinely from Hungary , arid this is the reason why the inhabitants were interdicted from any relations with the Hungarians . " Modern history is indebted for much knowledge to Leopold Ranke and the Baron Hormayr ; b ' ut in a much greater degree to one of those blunders which short-sighted despotism is in the habit of committing . " During the years 1823 and 1824 it was thought advisable to clear the Vienna archives , and a mass of papers , considered insignificant or useless , was sold by the pound . But they contained several valuable documents ; archaeologists discovered this , bought them from the original purchasers , and thus authentic documents have spread a most mournful light over the history of the Austrian government .
" Doctor Vehse , archivist of the kingdom of Saxony , in his enormous work on all the Austrian courts , and even the mediated princes , has collected a multitude of scattered documents , with a judicious , liberal ,, and enlightened spirit , which imparts great importance to his publication . He says himself that he despises style , the art of- composition and writing ; but he has , here and there , excellent inspirations . The curiosity he excites also helps us to forget his
negligences of style . " Lastly , some panegyrists of the imperial house , like Hurter , have made us precious and sinister revelations . Fearful that documents of evil character might be given to publicity , without commentary or with , hostile glosses , these clumsy friends ' . have ' themselves printed them , adding reflections which they believe peremptory , but which possess no value . I have employed the pieces of conviction , and left the mercenary advocates their subterfuges and sophisms . "
Such are the sources of information from which the his t ory before us lias been supplied . Mi \ Michiels insists on the fact that in all ¦ our speculations on the course of Austrian rnisgovernment , the partial or complete madness of nearly all the Hagsburb must be taken into account . The evil genius of that liouse may always counsel rash enterprises , which will upset the calculations of the cleverest nien . " Though , " he adds , "it oppresses the earth with its massive and ponderous base , its capricious
summit is lost in the clouds , where it . seeks the tempest arid , braves the lightning . Twenty times already it has all but perished by the tempests it has provoked , and a strange piece of good fortune , which Louis XIV . called a miracle , saved it repeatedly , and even within our knowledge in 1849 . It reckons on the perpetuity of this marvellous fortune , and learns less than other royal families from misfortune . It is like , those men who believe they possess an infallible talisman , and the gravest obstacles , therefore , do not cause it to abandon its projects .
Austria cherishes an inherited hate against France , regarding the latter as " the great crater of revolutions . The liberty of thought , the democratic theories , the universal propaganda of French literature , consequent on the changes introduced in 1789 , have persuaded the cabinet of Vienna that the repose of Europe and the salvation of monarchies demanded her huinilmtion or even annihilation . " There is no compromise possible , " says the writer , " between the unlimited pretensions of the Habsburgs and popular right ; no argument is possible between a court excited by tho most furious hatred of the new doctrines , and the nation that represents those doctrines . During his residence in saul time
SECRET HISTOKY OF THE AUSTRIAN GOVERNMENT , AND OP ITS SYSTEMATIC PERSECUTIONS OF PROTESTANTS . Compiled from Official Documents . By Alfred Mlohlels . —Cliapmau nnd Hull . The niadness of the Austrian Caesars has been hereditary ; and of this taint in their blood the author of the above work proposes to give documentary evidence . Austrian liistory down to a recent date lias not been to be trusted , the Jesuits had so falsified it in works written to order . No faithful historian had been allowed to obtain n sight of the real documents , and only glimpses of the actual state of things could be obtained at intervals . An important work by Cardinal Coraffh , Apostolic nuncio in Germany during tho reign of Ferdinand II ., contains considerable information . Our author quotes one passage from it ; showing the spirit of tho Austrian government in relation to schismatics : — " The monarch also declared , that in lieu of a judge or provost there must be established in Carnloln , Styria , and Carinthiu a military chief , to net summarily against the preachers who might bo seized , In consideration that they had been repeatedly warned : they ought to be hung to the nearest tree without any delay , as seditious men , spies , and criminals , and their obstinate perversity thus immediately chastised by tho cord . Vigorous decrees of this nature gradually produced the result that in
London , in 1848 , Prince Motternich openly no end would bo seen to the European troubles n a second coalition were not formed against franco , and unless she wero put down definitively or her territory lopped . The astute diplomatist after ' wards returned to Vienna , where , in spite of His eighty-eight years , ho exercised considerable in » u " ence up to the day of his death . It is natural that he would not speak in favour of Franco ; for uw overthrow and his flight , occasioned by the Fronc i revolution of 1848 , could not have inspired him witu any sympathy for that country . . " The House of Austria , that great enoiny of tlio calls it tar
human race , as Joseph de Maistro , goes beyond the Czar in tho theory and practice of oppression . Tyranny is with thorn u mania , A » o imperial family of Russia bears no hatred to progress and civilisation ; Peter the Great , Oathorino II ., and the present ruler , have displayed very contrary feelings . "Whenever a brutal despotism roigns on the banks of tho Nova , it is rather tno aOHir of personal completion than tho result ox a permanent and invariable political system , un the banks of tlie Danube It has for a long time boon reduced to a doctrine , and forms an hnumtablo tradition .
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 20, 1859, page 16, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_20081859/page/16/
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