shown [to the Moslems] by the conqueror | had so impetuously rushed to the attack in [Mendoza] was doing more for him than defiance of the commands of their officers, his arms-as the snow which the blasts of now showed the same spirit of insubowinter have only bound more closely to dination when commanded to leave it; the hill-side loosens its hold and falls away like the mastiff, who, maddened by the under the soft touch of spring."-Don wounds he has received in the conflict, John was rebuked by Philip for rashly refuses to loosen his hold on his antagoexposing himself in the front of battle; nist, in spite of the chiding of his master." "but it would have been as easy to rein in the war-horse when the trumpet was sounding in his ears, as to curb the spirits of the high-mettled young chieftain when his followers were mustering to the charge." Of the same impetuous Prince, cooped up inactive within the city-walls, we read, that "as he gazed on the blue mountains that rose as an impassable barrier around him, he was like the bird vainly beating its plumage against the gilded wires of its prison-house, and longing to be free."-On his giving the order to retreat, during one of the foiled assaults on Galera, we are told that the men who There is a dash of Sir Walter in this class of similes, which tells famously with the majority. Hackneyed the imagery may be, and a certain sameness may pervade it throughout; but it has a charm for the multitude in being never recondite, always intelligible on the surface, and always fulfilling the popular conception of what is "neat and appropriate." On the whole, Mr. Prescott embodies Chateaubriand's ideal of the only popular and generally readable historian Dont la diction claire et animée se pare aussi d'élégance et d'harmonie, and who, by these tokens, est sûr d'être lu et relu. From the Eclectic Review. FRANCE, AUSTRIA, AND Ir has come again. The political volca- | no which never slumbers in the heart of Europe has once more burst forth into alarming activity, and the world is rudely roused from its dreams of peace by the startling presence of impending war. The Nemesis that waits on all great crimes never fails to follow close upon that greatest of all crimes--the lawless suppression of a nation's life. Enceladus heaves and writhes under the weight of mountainous despotism, and the most imposing fabrics of power tremble to their base as he struggles. They may cry, "Peace, peace," as they will; but there is, there can be, there ought to be, no peace for Europe while the state of Italy remains what it is. "The state of Italy is a standing menace to the peace of Europe;" such in 1856 was the representation made at the Con ITALY. ferences of Paris to the assembled powers of Europe, not by visionaries and partisans, but by the thoroughly informed and responsible ministers of England, France, and Sardinia. 66 It can not be otherwise: for what in truth is the state of Italy? It is the state of a territory which aspires to be a country, and is in fact but a geographical expression." It is the state of twenty-five millions of men speaking a common language, proud of a common literature, inheritors of an unrivaled renown; who feel with equal bitterness the grandeur of the past and the nothingness of the present. It is the state of a race, who eager for union, see nothing but disintegration; who, desiring a federation of states flourishing side by side in one common motherland under native rulers and equal laws look abroad upon a confused medley of is there a broader distinction between the provinces whose governments (with one Italy of 1848 and the Italy of 1859, than glorious exception) are uniformly arbitrary in the different relations that subsisted. and frequently alien. To hate strangers then and that subsist now between Sarand to be the vassals of strangers; to de- dinia and the general party of the Liberaspise priests and to be the slaves of priests; tion. Then, not unreasonably, Charles to love freedom passionately and to have Albert was an object of mistrust and misit denied persistently; this is, and for like. His early treachery was not forgotgenerations this has been the fate of the ten; his reign, though not austere, had best and most intelligent among the in been only doubtfully liberal: when, grasphabitants of the Peninsula. As long as ing the sword, he crossed the Ticino, it this is so-as long as a vast and populous was very generally felt that his object was territory in the very center of the Euro- at least as much the aggrandizement of pean State-system is inhabited by a race Piedmont as the liberation of Italy. The thus justly and incurably alienated from last ten years have wrought a wondrous their rulers the elements of local insur- change. A thoroughly liberal governrection can never be wanting. The ment, a wise ministry, a patriot-king, and smoldering fire may burst forth at any a prosperous people, have won for Sardimoment; nor can it be confined within nia the just respect of Europe, and the the territorial limits of its origin. In the emulous admiration of Italy. All wise present electric state of European feeling, and liberal spirits, from one end of the a mere spark may suffice to set the conti- Peninsula to the other, have unanimously nent in a blaze. The armed resistance of given in their adhesion to the policy which a single Italian province may wrap the would intrust to the King of Sardinia the world in the conflagration of a general avenging sword of Italian liberation, and the federative scepter of Italian supremacy. There is vast progress here: it is a progress which, though not recent in its origin, has been of late unusually rapid in its growth. war. There is imminent danger then to all Europe in this perpetuated disaffection and discontent of Italy. It is a danger, too, which is constantly on the increase. This last point is of great importance. Even if the Italian difficulty were to remain precisely what it is, all the great Powers would be deeply concerned in devising some remedy for it. But it can not and it will not remain as it is. Every year of fresh endurance and increased enlightenment adds strength to the passion whose object is: "Italy for the Italians." Every year of constitutional government in Sardinia intensifies the yearning felt by every Italian worthy of the name, for the extension to the whole Peninsula of that beneficent system of regulated freedom which has achieved results so magnificent in the little kingdom under the shadow of the Alps. The years that have elapsed since 1848 have been prolific in some of the most priceless lessons of freedom. The Italians have learned the worth of a manly moderation and the worthlessness of sentimental extravagance. They have found out that other things are wanted for winning fields and wielding states, than the noisy vivas of elutheromaniac enthusiasm and the centralizing principles of Parisian republicanism. Sardinia is now their model. Mazzini has ceased to be the prophet of Italian liberation. In no respect There is no necessity to dive curiously into the fontal sources of the Italian past, in order to estimate the probabilities of the Italian future. We can calculate the horoscope of Italy without prying into her cradle. Modern Italy, the Italy of today, dates from the first Napoleon. The Charlemagne of the nineteenth century has left profound traces of his genius on the beautiful land, which was endeared to him by the ties of family origin, and the congenial associations of historical grandeur. No doubt his rapacity as a conqueror, his dominant and coercive spirit as a ruler, did much to violate the sensibilities, and disappoint the political hopes of the Italians. But for these transgressions he made great amends. He drove out the Austrians; he annihilated the temporal sovereignty of the Pope. Every where he substituted for the old tyrannies a more civilized policy, and more equal laws. He did not indeed give the Italians nationality; but he associated them with the glories and the greatness of the Empire. He covered their land with magnificent public works. He bestowed on them the imperishable gift of his Codes. He taught the Italian middle-classes the value of real work, and the power of individual energy. He preached and prac ticed among them his great gospel, "La carrière ouverte aux talens." He roused them from torpor and frivolity, and opened before them a vast vista of civil and military exertion. He did not, indeed, give them political freedom; but he trained them for civic life. After the fall of Napoleon came the resurrection of the kings. Waterloo had freed the hereditary rulers of Europe from the domination of their Suzerain: the task of Vienna was to impose fresh fetters on the Peoples by whose aid the battle of liberation had been won. Those who had struck the lion down," were only too ready to "pay the wolf homage ;" and "servile knees were proffered to thrones," on the strength of promises, lavishly made, never meant to be kept, and without exception, punctually broken. Italy, among the rest, was handed back, without pledge or guarantee, to her old masters; and her history, for the fortyfour years that have since elapsed, has been one long protest against this stupid and preposterous crime. We need not follow the progress of the heroic and melancholy story. The confessors of that long martyrdom-the fugitives from the dungeon and the scaffold-have filled all free and generous hearts in Europe with sympathy for the oppressed and execration of the oppressors. The burden of the desolation of Italy, is the most familiar and the most eloquent of all those national dirges which are sung in strange lands, by voices tremulous with passion and hoarse with hate. tional and naturally polite. If a lady well affected towards the ruling powers is seen approaching a group of Italian gentlemen, the conversation instantly becomes so absorbing, that not one of the party is conscious of her presence, till she has passed by unsaluted. A prince was punished a week or two ago, for omitting to take off his hat to an Archduchess. A vexatious change in the currency, and the impolitic rigor of a conscription which allows no exemption from service, even in the case of only sons, (except where the father is past seventy,) have roused the lethargy of that peasant class, whose enmity to the Tedeschi has hitherto been rather passive than active. The popularlyenforced prohibition against the use of Austrian tobacco-one of the most menacing symptoms of 1848-has again become almost universal. The enthusiasm of the students has grown irrepressible. Universities have been dispersed and broken up. The dagger of the assassin has been at work. The name of a popu lar composer has been made the cover for forbidden ovations, in honor of a patriotking: and "Viva Verdi!" is shouted from end to end of Italy, because the master's name comprises the initials of the prohibited words, Vittorio Emmanuele Re D' Italia. Of course profound observers are not wanting, who tell us that all these things are trivial and puerile. Each may be so in itself; all are not so in the aggregate. They are trifling in themselves; they are not so in what they indicate. A handful of matches thrown on the surface of a lava-stream, sputters, stinks, and is extinguished in a moment; but it shows as plainly as the charred homestead or the blazing forest-tree, the intense ardor of the molten mass by whose mere contact it has been ignited. Italy, let the open or concealed partisans of Austria write or say what they will, is in a state ripe for sudden insurrection. And now once again, after ten years of enforced suppression, the national emotion has reached the fever-point. All the old signs are abroad in the land. Every symptom, short of actual insurrection, by which a rigidly-coërced people can manifest the extremity of its disaffection, and the cordiality of its hatred, are visible in And what is the attitude of Sardinia? abundance through the length and breadth On the throne is a chivalrous and patriotic of Italy-especially in those portions of it king, of decided military tastes, eager as which are more immediately subjected to a soldier and a sovereign to wipe away in the detested yoke of Austria. A people blood, the disgrace of Novara; not less fond of the excitements of society, scrupu- eager in the interests of his dynasty, and lously shun all social reünions which may in the cause of Italian nationality, to bring them into contact with the domi- extend his kingdom of Sardinia into a nant race. Ball rooms are deserted; the kingdon of northern Italy, and to accept theaters are a solitude. The conventional the proffered supremacy over a federation forms of politeness are studiously disre- of Italian states. At the helm of affairs garded by a people eminently conven- is Camillo di Cavour - the ablest, the wisest, and the most enlightened statesman in Europe, who has hitherto safely accomplished his triple task of developing the prosperity and freedom of Sardinia; curbing the impatient zeal of the ultraliberals; and at the same time maintaining in the face of Italy the expectant attitude of a prudent champion, ready to strike when the hour comes, but resolute not to strike before. The speech delivered by Victor Emmanuel on the tenth of January last, is a clear exposition of the present position of Sardinia towards Italy and towards Europe. "Relying," said the King, "upon the experience of the past, we shall meet the eventualities of the future with resolution. Our country, though small in extent, has acquired credit in the councils of Europe; it is great in virtue of the ideas it represents, and the sympathy it inspires. This position is not free from danger, since, while we respect treaties, we are not insensible to the cry of suffering (dolore) which reaches us from so many parts of Italy. Strong in concord, and confiding in our rights, we shall await the decrees of Providence with prudence and resolution." It is impossible for language to convey more clearly, determination without defiance-a firm resolve neither to rush recklessly into a desperate struggle, nor to shrink by one hair's breadth from the heroic responsibilities of a great and arduous position. The unanimous feeling of the whole sub-Alpine population, responds with enthusiasm to the position thus taken by the King. On the fifteenth of January, the Chamber of Deputies agreed to an address, which, after expressions of firm confidence for the future, proceeds and concludes in these memorable terms: "At present, sire, your voice, influential and respected among all civilized nations, magnanimously expressing pity for the woes of Italy, will certainly revive the memory of the solemn promises which have as yet remained without fulfillment, and at the same time will tend to calm down blind impatience, and will uphold among the population a firm confidence in the irresistible force of civilization and the power of public opinion. If these consolatory thoughts and this appeal to public reason were to draw down perils or menaces on your sacred head, the nation-which venerates in you its sincere and straightforward prince, and looks on you as the powerful interceder with the various European cabinets for the cause of liberty which beholds all the anger of factions give -- way before the great example of your fidelity— which knows that in you, and by you, at last has been found the secret, lost for so many cenwill to a man, range themselves around your turies, of Italian concord-the nation, we say, person, and show that they have again learned the ancient art of uniting the obedience of the soldier to the liberty of the citizen." The reading of this address was greeted with the loudest cheers from every part of the Chamber, and even the ministerialists themselves are said to have been surprised at the unanimity displayed. It is impossible to show more clearly the spirit that animates both King and people. Obviously, Count Cavour's difficulty will be rather to restrain them to check the military ardor of his sovereign and of his countrymen. It is eminently necessary on all grounds, strategic as well as political, that this check should be rigorously exercised. A rapid glance at the military resources of Austria and of Piedmont, will prove clearly that the latter could not without more powerful aid than an Italian insurrection, attempt the enterprise of driving the Austrians out of Lombardy. It is never an easy task to estimate with accuracy the effective military force which at any given time can really be disengaged for active service in the field. As the result, however, of considerable investigation among the most feliable sources, it may probably be stated as a fair approximation to the truth, that Sardinia might at the present time be able to bring into the field from 50,000 to 55,000 men of all arms. This army is in a high state of efficiency; the artillery is admirably officered and served; the rifle corps (Bersiglieri) are not excelled by any in Europe; the infantry of the line showed at the battle of Traktir that it was not unworthy to take rank in steadiness, valor, and discipline, with the fleshed veterans of England and France. On the other hand, the military resources of Austria are vast; her strategic position in Lombardy is of one almost unexampled strength. Marshal Radetzky always declared his opinion that the warfooting of the Austrian army of occupation in Lombardy ought not be below 150,000 men. At the present time there is good reason to believe that it very nearly approaches this standard. A force of this kind, after making every possible allowance for sickness and garrison duty, would leave at least 90,000 men for act ive operations in the field. The two great lines of Austrian defense are the line of the Mincio, and the line of the Adige. Of these two the former is the strongest; it is difficult, indeed, to conceive any thing stronger. The Mincio, Virgil's river "smooth-sliding Mincius, crowned with vocal reeds "-runs with a deep, sluggish stream right across the plain of Lombardy from the bottom of the Lago di Garda, on the north, to the Po on the south. Just where it issues from the lake is Peschiera, a fortress always formidable, but by the efforts of the last ten years, rendered almost impregnable. At the other extremity of the line of defense stands Mantua situated in the midst of marshes, which in a few hours can be converted into a lake by the simple management of a few dams and sluices. Mantua, thus strong by natural position, has been trebly strengthened by art. It is practically impregnable; its earth-works defy artillery, its swamps are mortal with malaria. For a weaker force to endeavor, in face of a stronger force, to pass the line of the Mincio with Peschara on one flank, and Mantua on the other, would be among the most hazardous of military enterprises; and yet, until the line of the Mincio is forced, Austria remains strategically the mistress of Lombardy. The line of the Adige resting on the vast entrenched camp of Verona is at least equally strong. The experience of 1848 proves conclusively the hopelessness of any attempt by Sardinia, with the sole aid of insurrectionary Italy, to drive Austria from Lombardy. In 1848 every thing was in favor of Sardinia-every thing against Austria. Radetzky, instead of 150,000 had only 60,000 men: the loss of Venice in his rear interrupted his communications with Vienna and compelled him to abandon the line of the Mincio. The Austrian empire struggling for bare existencewith Hungary in active revolt, the Emperor driven into the Tyrol, the capital in possession of the revolutionists-could send no effective reinforcement. All Italy, all Europe was in a ferment, there was every thing to animate attack, every thing to discourage resistance; and yet we know the result. Radetzky, rallying on the Adige, doubled upon the army of liberation, drove them back beyond the Mincio, drove them back beyond the Ticino, finally within the frontiers of Sar dinia won at Novara, that dishonest victory," fatal to the ambition of Charles Albert and to the hopes of Italy. It may be argued that the generalship of Radetzky had much to do with this result; no doubt it had, but Radetzky has left able masters in the art of war behind him. The foremost of these is General Hess, to whom it is generally understood that the chief command in Lombardy would be intrusted in case of war. It was General Hess who planned the short campaign of 1849, and with the prophetic tact of military science indicated Novara as the battle-ground on which the decisive action would proably be fought. The great difference in favor of Austria between 1848 and 1859 is that at the former date she was taken by surprise, at the latter she is thoroughly prepared. It may readily be admitted that a great improvement has taken place within the last ten years in the materiel of the Sardinian army, but it must not be forgotten that corresponding improvements have been effected in the services of Austria. Financially, neither the empire nor the kingdom are prepared of war. The King of Sardinia admits this; all the world knows it to be true of Austria. From these considerations there is only one conclusion to be drawn: it would be the extremity of indefensible recklessness for Sardinia, with no other ally than the Italian insurrection, to assume an attitude of hostility to Austria. There is another ally, and that ally is France; an ally, as we confidently believe, fully prepared not only to urge Sardinia "to the perilous edge of battle," but to assist her in the struggle with an imposing military force. In the presence of those daily and earnest denials of the possibility of war, which have invariably been found to grow stronger and stronger down to the very outbreak of actual hostilities, it may be as well quietly to state some of the grounds of this belief. The designs of Louis Napoleon at any given moment may be difficult to fathom, but the basis of his character ought by this time to be known. No one can doubt the tenacity with which he clings to a once-conceived design, or the fidelity with which he has sought to work out the ideas of the first Empire. To chase the Austrians out of Italy was a Napoleonic idea, worked out, as the world knows, with some success by the young |