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TRIFLES LIGHT AS AIR. Nonsense.—It makes...
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A Pjbbp behind tub Curtain.—'It appears ...
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. How JoiraBdli. is Gulled.—It was suppo...
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Weeps.—The Standard quoted the following...
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A Shot. Beside tiik Makk.—In reviewing M...
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Savm »w ruoM diy Fhibnus.— When Lord Con...
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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.
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Portraitures Of The Royal Family Of Prus...
the political ideas of young Frederick William , the husband of the Princess Royal , it will perhaps be better not to dilate . It may be that he has scarcely any as yet , except the few dogmas indoctrinated by the professors of the Haller and De Maistre school , to whom his father has entrusted his political education . Thus , with a view to internal administration , there is probably little to be gained for Prussia by Any change the succession to the throne may undergo . It remains now to be seen what influence the preponderance of any of the coteries above
aiamed would have on the foreign policy of Prussia —on her alliances with Russia , Austria , France , or England . This latter point is an important one , as it may react on European policy in general . During the reign of the King , it is well known Prussian policy was always steadily directed towards the maintenance of good relations both with * he Government of St . Petersburg and that of Vienna . At the same time , a civil understanding was kept up with the Court of St . James . In fact , the King ' s favourite crotchet was to preserve
4 he f * Holy Alliance , " and to this Moloch he sacrificed not only the liberties of his people , but also his own personal dignity . He adored the Czar Nicholas almost as the preserver of the political universe , and the Emperor of Austria he hardly refrained from styling " his august master . " In this way the three Northern Courts , as the French call them , were bound together in friendship during the ^ greater portion of Fre derick William ' s reign . The Queen , on her part , followed the same course
-of ideas in foreign policy as the King . However , berself a Catholic Princess of Southern Germany , she is even more ardent in remaining on friendly terms with Austria . If any difference , in fact , is to be found between her and the King in this respect , we might perhaps say that , whilst the King strove principally to maintain the Holy Alliance , ¦ Queen Elizabeth leaned more particularly to the alliance with Austria , irrespective of all and every ¦ consequence . The Queen , therefore , properly speaking , is the exponent of the Austrian element . at Berlin .
The Prince , as far as can yet be seen , follows a ¦ different track in these matters . He cultivates the Russian alliance at the expense of the Austrian pretensions . During 1 S 49 , this " specific Prussian " tendency of his appeared clearly enough : and on this point we are able to bring forward curious documentary evidence . Perhaps it is not saying too ihuch to assert that the Prince ' s antipathy to the _ K ^ A L LJ V 1 ^ T 1 * 1 would induce to
xiouse or xlapspurg even mm < 5 ourt the friendship of Louis Napoleon , however . great might be his disrelish for any connexion with the parvenu . We need not add that his animosity Co Austria does not . spring from the possession of . any Liberal tendencies on iris part . Nothing could be further from his character . It is simply a question of hate between royal families , —a jealousy of Court with Court . But be that as it may , in any case the pursuance by him of a consistent anti-Austrian policy might lead to many important
European consequences . Among those who already speculate on the future Idugship of the son of the Prince of Prussia , the idea of an alliance between Prussia arid Great Britain is of course a prominent feature in the prospect , But here again it would be more prudent not to indulge in any chSteau en JEspagne—the . accession of Prince Frederick William being as yet tout a distant contingency . Altogether the situation of the Continent is such that it would be well to confine speculations to the probabilities of tho immediate future .
, After these introductory remarks , we give an abridged biography of some of the dramatis persona at present moving on the Berlin stage . We begin with the most prominent figure , the one whioh now rivets public attention , the heir-presumptive and brother of the King .
THE PRINCE OJP PRUSSIA . In age , the Prince follows very closely upon tho fceels or his brother ; the lattdr being within a few days of his sixty-third year , whilst the former counts well ¦ nigh sixty .-two summers . This similarity 471 years is noteworthy , for it has contributed in no small degree to render tho jealousy between the two princce more violent and irreconcilable from day to day . The heir-presumptive , being a man of naturally resolute and ambitious disposition , has borne with a chafing spirit the precedence of a weak and vacillating brother , his senior but by a score of months . With , the course of time , tho
eagerness of the Prince to supplant the King has become more and more apparent . It was as il the mind of the Prince grew more exasperated day by day at thus continually finding his brother keeping ahead of him by £ neck , without his ever , being able to overtake him . The secret jealousy between the two waxed fierce from the moment when Frederick William IV . received at Konigsberg the oath of fidelity from his subjects . From that chiy the Prince placed himself at the * head of a faction which , often uuseen to public eyes , intrigued for personal interests , and sometimes brought about violent scenes in the
royal palace . In those early days of the King ' s reign , the Prince was leader of an ultra-Russian clique at Berlin—a clique in constant relation with the Czar and Ambassador , M . Von Budberg . It may seem difficult , considering the llussian leanings of the King himself , that the Prince should be able to outbid him in his Muscovite policy . Yet such was the fact . The monarchic ultras , in . whose society the Prince delighted , were chiefly " Grandees of the Ukermark , " French Legitimists , Spanish Carlists , and others of the same mould , all ot them in high favour at the Winter Palace . To this coterie , King Frederick William appeared " too
German" in his leanings . They opposed to him the Prince , as being a more perfect representative of the Cossack type . Among men of this stamp the Prince soon became a » model of absolutism . He strenuously resisted all attempts at the introduction of representative government . When the King , at last , found himself compelled by the financial difficulties of the country to assemble , in 1847 , the famous " Vereinigte Landtag , " the Prince refused to take the oath of allegiance to the constitution ,, if the word constitution can be employed at all to designate that miserable Landtag affair . The Prince declared that
the royal prerogative had been encroached upon by the grant of a charter . He-denied his brother ' s right to thus dispose' prerogatives which were not his exclusively , but equally the property of all his successors . It was only when the King , as Commander-in-Chicf of the army , ordered the Prince to take the oath , that the latter obeyed . Placing his clenched hand on his helmet , he complied with the prescribed form ,-muttering the while with ill-concealed anger , " I bow to your Majesty ' s command !" Among his friends , the Prince afterwards did not scruple to declare that , though he had taken the oath in his quality as a soldier , he had not sworn in his quality as heir to the thfone !
It may be conceived thaft these absolutistic freaks were not calculated to enhance the popularity of Prince William . At the outbreak of the popular movement in 18 IS , his person was consequently the object of the fiercest attack . But of this we will speak in a subsequent article , when we . have to treat of the influence the Prince has exercised in destroying the last vestiges of German liberty .
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*¦» THE LEADE B . __ _ U * ° - 44 < 3 ' October 9 , 1858 ,
Trifles Light As Air. Nonsense.—It Makes...
TRIFLES LIGHT AS AIR . Nonsense . —It makes one doubt of the utility of Mechanics' Institutions , when one finds that the picked men of that of Leeds could draw up such a " sentiment" as the following , which was placed in the hands of a scholar , Mr . Monckton Milnes , to be recommended to a public meeting last weekj—" The extension of the Schools of Art , as they impart a taste for artistic beauty , and give familiarity with the principles of which it rests . " Let us translffte and then whether
the " sentiment" into English , see it be possible to make sense of it . * ' Wo wisii for the extension of the schools of Art , because they impart a taste for artistic beauty , and make persons familiar with the principles on which it rests . " Iho sentiment Is now grammatically intelligible , but still we are in the dark as to its meaning . What is " artistic beauty ? " and what are the 4 t principles " on which the undeflnable thing rests ? It is a pity that tho Leeds Institution does not " impart a taste " for common sense and " give familiarity" with Lindley Murray .
A Pjbbp Behind Tub Curtain.—'It Appears ...
A Pjbbp behind tub Curtain . — 'It appears from a speech . whioh Sir G , C . Lewis , thelato Chancellor of the Exchequer , has made at an agricultural meeting in Kadnorshlre , that ho , at least , thinks no reform ot Parliament necessary , We holds tho House of Com * mons to be " a very faithful exponent of the general sentiments of tho country . " Unless Sir G . O . Lewis be a hypocrite—which wo do not boliovo-7 . it is evident that the question of Woform was not ovon mooted in Lord Pulmoraton ' s cabinet . When Mr . JUernal Oeborne , after he had quitted ofilcu , asked
Lord Palmerston to lay his Reform Bill on the table his Lordship said that It had not been prepared—hd should have added " nor thought of . "
. How Joirabdli. Is Gulled.—It Was Suppo...
. How JoiraBdli . is Gulled . —It was supposed that one good , at' least , Jiad resulted from the miserable Russian war , followed by the more nii serable treaty of peace , and that was the proclamation by the Sultan of the Hatti Humayoun * which was supposed to confer important advantag es on the Christian population of * Turkey . Our newspaper writers at the time fell into ecstasies on the subject . On Tuesday last the 7 'imes Constantinople correspondent devoted a . column to proving categorically that this boasted charter not only conferred no right upon the Christians which they did not before possess , but actually deprived them of one , namely , their exemption from military service . The writer thinks it possible , that the British publi c may be " rather astonished" to hear all this . We think so too .
Weeps.—The Standard Quoted The Following...
Weeps . —The Standard quoted the following passage from the Irish Registrar-General ' s Annual Report the other day : — "As regards the condition of Irish . agriculture , I beg to state that I continue to receive communications from various quarters relative to the pernicious growth of weeds , which is unfortunately so prevalent ¦ throughout the country , and an anxious desire is generally expressed for some legislative measure to protect the improving farmer who cleans his land lroni the injury done to his crops by the winged seeds of noxious weeds carried by the wind from the field of some negligent neighbour . Such a protection is . afforded to the cultivator of the soil in some of her Majesty ' s colonies , and in
parts of Kurope . " Neither the Standard nor the Irish official seems to be aware that our law provides a remedy for the grievance pointed out . Actions for damage caused by the neglect to weed are occasionally , but happily rarely , tried at assizes . The last instance of the kind we remember was about fifteen years ago . We are not lawyers enough to speak positively on the point : but we apprehend that the remedy is given not by statute , but by common law , founded oa the maxim , " So use your own that you do not hurt others . " Seeing , however , that the holdings in Ireland . are generally small , and the tenants hot over rich , it may be desirable to give them a more summary remedy than that by action .
A Shot. Beside Tiik Makk.—In Reviewing M...
A Shot . Beside tiik Makk . —In reviewing Mr . Salass book , called A Journey Due North , the other day , the Times gave an extract in which tho author is at considerable pains to convey to the English reader a notion of the complexion of a Russian peasant girl . The passage we particularly refer to is as follows : —" Nay ; there is a wood , or rather preparation of a wood , used by upholsterers—not rosewood , ebony , mahogany , walnut , ouk , but a fictitiously browned , ligneous substance , called Pombroke . I have seenJt , at sales , go in the guise of a
round table for 1 / . 9 s . 1 mind it in catalogues Pembroke chest of drawers—pembroke work-table I know its unwholesome colour , and dully , blinking sheen , which no beeswax , no household-stiUK n 0 wash-leather can raise to a generous polish . ^ Pembroke is the Russian peasant complexion . " J- 'i o writer lias fallen into a ludicrous blunder here by mistaking form for substance . There is no wood called " Pembroke ; " but there is a table of that name , having a flap at each end . This table , though seldom seen now , was much in vogue half a century ago , and , probably , took its name from sonic Lord or Lady Pembroke who designed it , as other pieces ot their distin
furniture are culled by the names of - guished inventors . Thus , all the pains wluu 1 Mr . Sala has taken to establish a comparison with , lie Russian peasant girl ' s complexion are thrown aw'ny , and we know no more about the matter than it »>« had not written his minute description of what nas no existence . The Russian peasant girl ' s skin nifty be of any of the colours of tho wood of which a i-C" » - broke-tablo may bo made—red , black , white , br 0 > '"; or yellow , & o . l } y-the-by , is Mr . Sain a Scotchman ' Tho question * is asked because tho passage piven above contains a decided Scotticism , 1 mind it \ w catalogues . " Tho English of this is , " I ruiiiomUer it , " & c
Savm »W Ruom Diy Fhibnus.— When Lord Con...
Savm » w ruoM diy Fhibnus . — When Lord Conning '* Onde proclamation wum under cohbk ernwoi , his friends in Parliament contended that tho w ° »* " confiscation" had not tho same sigmilimuou u » India us in England—they said it was "" I" * " * " ™ that his Lordship could have intended- anythmg so bad—one of them nacd tho word " atrocious . *» his despatches to tho Court of DlreetorH , rece » iuy published , Lord Cunning states explicitly » "" did moan confiscation in the ordinary and h ignji » sonse , and therefore his Lordship •» t «» n « . " * . „ anomalous position of being condemned by hu o «« dofonders .
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Oct. 9, 1858, page 18, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_09101858/page/18/
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