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Leader (1850-1860), 31st March 1860, Edition 1 of 2, Page 307, HElNTtY IV. OF PBANCE.*

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    • HElNTtY IV. OF PBANCE.*
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      Untitled Article

      March 31 , I 860 . ] The Leader and Satttrday Analt / sL 307

      Untitled Article

      ' ¦ . . - . - . . ¦ : ' : ¦ - ¦ ¦ ¦ - ; " 1 » 46 . " The abilities of one of the * * * princes was the subject of conversation , and the general opinion was , that they were of a very ordinary kind . Humboldt . contradicted . ' I must dispute- that , ¦ said he ; ' the young- prince lately spoke with ""*; , > & met me waiting in his mother ' s apartments , and asked , " Who are you ? X replied , "My name is HtrarBOtDT / ' " And what are you ? I : "I am the chamberlain of His Majesty the King :. " "Is that all ? curtly broke off the Prince , turned on his heel , and went his way . ¦ Th at is unquestionably a proof of understanding . " « Feb . 21 , 1847 .

      " At the request of Prince Axbert when be was at Stolzenfels , I caused a copy of the Kosmos to be laid upon his table . He had -the politeness not to thank me for ifc . Now , the Black Eagle has made him polite , that , as well as—— he makes me talk about ' circling oceans of light' and ' star terraces , ' a . Coburg-iau variation upon my text , quite JEnglis 7 i , from Windsor , where every thingis full of terraces / In the Kosmos , page 159 , is the star canopj-, to explain , by openings , the starless spots . The book upon the Mexican Monuments which he has presented me I bought two years ago . An edition of Lord Bteou ' s works would have been more delicate . It is singular , too , that no mention is made of Queen "Victoeia , who , perhaps , deems my books upon Nature not Christian . You see , ! judge severely when princes write . ''

      Prince Albert to JTum 7 joldt . " Windsor Castle , Feb . 7 th , 1847 . " Respected Baron , —I have , during 1 the gradual reading of the first volume of your Kosmos , continually felt myself impelled to express to yon my repeated thanks for the great intellectual enjoyment which this , study has afforded me . , To be sure I am not able to bestov / tipon you in this case , as a return present , a sententious judgment on your excellent wox-k , Avhich I received out of your own Lands .

      "But , however , in want of such , to lend at least a certain external weight to the expression of my thanks , I send you the enclosed work , Catherwood ' 0 Views on Central America , which , as a supplement to your own great work oh Spanish America , might perhaps engage your attention * I need not say with what lively expectation I am looking forward to the appearance of the second volume of the Kosmos . . " May it please Heaven , * whose circling seas of light and star terraces' you depict so gloriously , to keep you yet many years in undisturbed health of body and soul , for the fatherland , the world , and the Kosmos . " This is the sincere wish of " Yours truly , *• Albebt . "

      Humftoldt to VarnJiagen . " February 27 th , 1847 . " You . were right to scold me for my harshness towards the man of the star terraces . I am only severe with the mighty ; and with this man , while at stolzenfels , I did not feel at ease . I know you sympathize with the misfortunes of the Eussian Poles , but , unfortunately , ' tlie Poles deserve our sympathy as little as do the Irish . — Mild dixii , and he is the handsome husband of the Queen of Great Britain . " " November 4 th , 1849 .

      " How important is the news from Paris ! The imprudent , thoughtless Louis Napoleon will , probably , obtain the eonsulat a vie ; hut he will fall , and awake the slumbering lion . Freedom -will not lose by it ; and German statesmen ( are there any except Ton . Gage » n ?!) will then perceive that the France of 17 ^ 9 still exists in Europe—that France , whose nullity . has been a by-word this year past . The centres of gravitation are changing 1 places , " > . " July 2 nd , 1850 ,

      "I am glad , in tin ' s gloomy period of reaction , to receive so pleasant a token from your hand . My dear friend , I am happy to hear of . your journey to Kiel—to that little region , where German sentiments find utterance so consistent and , free , —The ptato of the nations resembles the bottle of water which D'AI / Emjjekt shook to produce a maze of bubbles of different angles . Ho thqn said , in ridicule of that science in which ho himself was bo great , Qalcndezmoi cela ! ' Many of the bubbles will burst before . their transitory forms can be diplomatically calculated .

      Vamhagoji ' s Diary , " January 29 th , 1852 . *• At one o ' clock , Huiuiboldt camo . Wonderfully active for his years . Is exasperated at the coiyp d'&at in Prance , at the daring 1 violence , the arbitrary banishments , particularly the robbery of the Ojimsans family . The King * was at first oveajoye / I at the hows . The deed of villany perpetrated against the people , against their representatives , against right and his , . solemn oath , is iiofc so uonrtouttnat tno adventurer

      obnoxious to the Jiving and the ; jeans ujpon the people , exercises socialism , and will bo Emperor besides , that makes him detestable !*•** # Humbqwpt says it is an undoubted fact that Louis Napoleon is the son of Admiral VEBijctrpx , his brother Mpbny a son of General Fi-ahaum !? , who lived with both sisters- —the Queen of Holland and the Queen of . Naples . ' Of Pkrsicwy— --Fiawcn djj Peusignt—ho spooks with the utmost contemptj lie is a coarse , uncultivated subaltern , who nevertheless has the presumption to pretend to produce something « ew about the pyramids . "

      Untitled Article

      T E BEARjSTAIS is one of the most favourite figure ' s of European -L' history ; and those who like him least , must inake up their minds to ^ he avowal that no amount of evidence which may be brought forward to prove liim unworthy of that favour , will succeed in depriving him of it . He is exactly the monarch in whom the whole world can take an interest—an interest which scarcely reaches with the majority to the great political schemes attributed to the king , or the valuable administrative l-efornis effected by Sully , and other ministers in his name , but centres around the man * his

      exploits and his peccadilloes . It is that scampishriess which forms so large an element in his character , indeed , that makes him such a favourite . It is , we will not say a sad , but an unflattering- truth , that great and inflexible virtue seldomor ever , makes Ms possessor popular . He is esteemed and respected ; but people shun his society , and prefer that , of some clever scapegi'ace known to be always up to mischief , and quite as lilcely tp make them his next victims as anybody else . The virtuous man is so far above Ijis fellows , that they can feel no sympathy with or for him ; the scamp , whose misdeeds are redeemed by wit and good humour , comes down to the general level , and will always find persons to extenuate his follies , and lend him a helping 1 hand out of his scrapes . Just so ifc is in historv . The great kjnfcrs and potentates who have kept

      themselves free from all fojlies are remembered for the deeds they have , accomplished , and the influence they have exerted upon national or general history ; but rip one cares to trace the details of their career , ajrid study the decorous dnlness of their private life . But let the great king have beem a good companion ,, a man of .. easy morals and easy manners , and at onco his history becomes . interesting , and chroniclers without number fasten upon him . We must not be unjust , however , to that much-suffering lay figure , the world . It tnkos no interest in vice itself when unredeemed by valour and wit . It reads with pleasure the story of Henri Quatre , —his fickleness , Ins ingratitude , and his amours ; it likes to hear even of the pranks of our own Charles II . ; but it cares nothing at all for information about Louia Quinze or George tho Fourth , fiinnors and nothing

      As the world will therefore hei \ r of Henry IV ., it naturally follows that histories of him abound , some written by partisans and some by enemies , but all , however strong the prty bias of the writer , iniluoncod , somewhat to indulgence and admiration , by that happy manner , that dashing 1 , adventurous spirit wliioh majjo even those ho had most eUainefully deserted still cling ? tp the long with affectionate attachment . Tho most valuable contributionot later years to tho history of Henry ' s reign w undoubtedly the exhaustive work of M . Poinsou , tlio result of more tbjin Uneen years' intense devotion to the sjibjoct ; but able as the book is it possesses comparatively little interest for tho general roador . Twothirds of it are occupied iu a history of tho political , adinnuatrative , religious , libeftiry , and indusfcrial condition of Franco ufc the time ,

      Untitled Article

      Part X . Bmvy IV . una tho loaguo . By Martha W . F « KKft . Two ^ ol » . Hurst and Blttojtett .

      Untitled Article

      " August 11 th , 1855 . "Of the Piince of Prussia , Humboidt said , the Prince had asserted ; at St . Petersburg , as he had formerly done at Berlin , that the war might have been avoided if Prussia had at the outset taken a decided step , for . then the Emperor Nicholas would have given way . The Imperial , family lived happily together , the Grand I ) uke Constantine included , who did not appear so dangerous as represented . The Empress mother had said they were all mere children , she had to remain with them to maintain order . The war is severely felt , everything at a standstill ; the country nearly destitute of men , though not so numerous either ; Poland , the Baltic provinces , and Finland feebly supplied with troops , the main part of the army being in the Crimea ; the losses are tremendous ^ and impossible to be supplied ; GoetsChajkioff reports the daily combats cost him from 180 to 200 men , a frightful number in a month ; . NesseIiKODE thinks of fresh negotiations , but first heavy blows must fall upon one side or the other ; they are riot without fears for Sebastopol . " " March 7 th , 1858 . "I presume , dear friend , you have not yet come into possession of the indiscreet , I may say , almost inane work of Noemakbt's . " " March 8 th . " HuirBOiiJDT sends me , with a friendly line , the book written by the Marq uis of Noejianiy upon the Revolution of 1848 . He terms it an indiscreet and almost inane work j I call ifc a stupid one , and , judging by the contents , a treacherous one ; it proves how injurious ifc is to allow diplomatic interference , more especially non-official , as was that of the Marquis . Oavaigjstac as well as Laxiaetine gave too much ear to his counsels . He is one of the dullest and most irksome of Englishmen . March 9 th : Head moi ' e of Normanby . He is a sorry wight , but the meanness of IiOtris PiriiiPPE , the wickedness of GyizoT , the ruinous influence of the cring'ei '' s and cheats , we may learn from his bad book . For the rest lie is a master in the . art of levelling everything . that is animating- and sparkling in the mightiest events to a deadening wearisomeness . " We hear that this work is already out of print in Germany ; 15 , 000 copies paving been sold . The interest in it contimies unabated , arid is likely to do so .

      Helntty Iv. Of Pbance.*

      HE 1 S EY IV . OF PBANCE . *

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), March 31, 1860, page 307, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2340/page/15/