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THE RHETORIC OF CONVERSATION.* the
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help perceiving that the French and English alliance has tended to reduce the power of Austria and Russia , the two main pillars of Continental despotism ; it has rendered the formerly absolute and insolent Prince of Prussia almost the model of Constitutional ' Sovereigns . Who that travelled on the Continent in 1850 can have forgotten the audacious impudence of the jjolicc oificials , more especially in Prussia and Austria ? Who can have forgotten how and why the Austrians billeted their troops upon Hamburg ? How Bremen was threatened with a similar punishment unless the liberal institutions adopted in 1848 were instantly replaced by the old police guardianship system . The constant fear of Louis Napoleon and his Zouaves is , in my humble opinion , doing more for German freedom than any exertions made by the Germans themselves . The princes , not knowing ho \ v soon they may be in need of the services of their people , are more disposed to strive for their love and respect . They feel that the slightest appearance of discord between people and sovereigns would be the signal for an attempt upon the Rhine . Consequently the German princes were never so liberal , never so patriotic , never so particularly Germanic , as at this moment ; nor , as far as I can remember , were the police officials less insolent . Never since the days of Tacitus , I am inclined to think , did Germans enjoy so much liberty as at this present time . They are not obliged tojjrocure a license for the performance of some natural functions , and we may expect , if Louis Napoleon keeps the ruling powers a few years longer upon the tenter hooks , to see the peop le free to live , marry , and gain their bread honestly without permissionfrom the police . Compared ' . with 1850 { jve are living in a state of savage liberty , which is entirely owing to Louis Nappleon . The German Liberals ought to regard him as their best friend ; but , far from this , they are most rabid against Mmv It is singular that -with regard to Louis Napoleon the English and continental Liberals are totally at variance . The German Liberals are for an English Tory policy against France , but desire a Whig policy against Russia . The Feudalist or Absolutist party , as represented by the KreutzZeitung \ would have no objection to an alliance be-, tween France , AustriayPrtissiai , and . Russia , for the isolation and ultimate ruin of England . : " . As you may imagine , the observations of Mr . Kingt ^ ake iri the House of Commons have attracted much attention , not because of ; th& newness of the information , for what he said SiiParliatnent with ; ¦¦ ' so much pomposity has been exaggerated from mouth to mouth these weeks past . Little credit , however , was attached to reports of i ^ ai nature , because if there were any truth in them the princes ^ themselves must have been the authors—a very improbable circum-. stonce . We ar <^ vet fact , inundated withstories ^ similar to those . repeated by Mr . KingIuAice . The other day the ^ papers jcirculated the news that a French officer , disguised as an organ grinder , had been seized in the act of taking a driving of the fortifications of Dantzig , Another report was that French officers had been seen taking soundings at the mouth of the Weser . Strength is lent to the last report by a letter from Paris to the Allgemeine Zeitung , or rather M . Orges , which letter is supposed to have been written by a diploma , tist of high standing ; Hesays : " Your fears with respect to the intentions of the Emperor against Germany are but too well , foiiricM , although' J ^ p ^ im ^ t- state the exact period when the mask of peace will be cast aside . As to the state of public opinion in foreign countries we know notlung in Paris , but a fearful presentiment seems to possess the nation that we are upon the eve of war , or , at all events , that we cannot be sure of peace from one day to another . Four days ago I paid a visit to . ¦' .: ¦ ¦ . . ( a general staff officer of notej , with whom I have kept up acquaintance , although it has been of late confined to occasional greetings . He lately , in a chance meeting , suddenly began a lecture upon the advantages and disadvantages of the French and German system of fortification , and appeared as though he wished to enrich his very superficial knowledge of the subject through me . I promised him some details as to the principles which I took to him on Tuesday . It was evident that he had devoted close attention to the battle-fields of Germany , for he had made vast progress in his knowledge of geography , a science in which he had formerly been no great adept . ( Your readers must understand that it is a general belief in Germany that the French , as a nation , are very ignorant of geography—possibly because a Frenchman is seldom to be met with who knows the names and degrees of latitude and longitude of all the German Cities . ) I should not have felt surprised at his studies in the geography of Germany , for he had always evinced an inclination to study ; but what particularly struck me was the following circumstance : Among a number of maps which lay spread out upon his table was one with a white border . On my endeavouring to obtain a nearer view of it ho covered it with his hand , and quickly shuffled it under the others . I saw enough of it , however , to be able to state that it was a photographic copy of Pape ' s map of the kingdom of Hanover , including the country of the "mouthns ^^ it , for I observed the fine neat leaves too exactly , besides a military map of this description , exists only in one copy . I would n ot hesitate to speak positively were it not for the peculiarity of the colouring , and that the photograph copy seemed smaller than the original . I so little suspeotod the object of his studies and inquiries that the map would have escaped my attention but for his haste in concealing it . I asked him whether it was a photograph : he replied in the negative , and commenced talking so rapidly about Montalembert that 1 could not well return to the subject . At any rate you may rely upon it that this was a photographio copy of a German military map of the mouth of the Weser .
The war against Germany is no longer a mere idea , it is a settled plan ; you need only go into any cafe frequented by the military to be convinced that the army believ es we are on the eve of war . lam told that in Chalons numerous bodies of cavalry will be assembled under the pretence of comparing the merrfcs of heavy and light cavalry . The former , it is said , is to be abolished . As the infantry can be sent across the country in masses much quicker by the railway , the pretence of trying . the cavalry is a clever invention , and does the Emperor honour . The foregoing is a neat sample of the reports and rumours which have kept the eyes of princes and people directed towards the Rhine these twelve months past . We shall doubtless be interested with many more of the same sort , but I shall not attempt to intrude them into your columns . The Berlin National Gazette says , with reference to Mr . Kktglake ' s statement , " The members of the English Parliament who have , Within the last few days , mooted again the Savoy question , have performed a service the value of which we will not seek to depreciate , but it is to be regretted that they have allowed themselves to be made " the speaking trumpets 7 ' of Austria . These Austrian fables which they have given utterance to have been carried to England , because their origin is so self-evident , that , if brought first before the public by the organs of the Austrian Government , they would be too supremely ridiculous . Now , however , that they come through the parliament of England and the English journals , they are readily reproduced and accepted as sterling fact . We were likewise favoured with a version of the Conference at Villa Franca , which version , in our opinion , was more deserving of credit than that given by Mr . Kinglake . In our version there were divers sarcastic observations against Prussia by the Emperor Napoi-oex , its semi ^ iiberal institutions , its ingratitude for the services rendered by France in the affair of Neufchatel ; finally ^ som e int erchanges of views as to the ^ compensation for the loss of Lombardy , without exactly defining what the compensation was to be , hihtirig , however , rather to the East than o Silesia . Louis NAPOtEON was , of course ^ not sparing of consolatory ^ words to bring about the necessary state of resignation , and to keep Austria in hopeful expectation till the peace of Zurich . ¦ ite . Vpreten 4 ed , ; , nb ; :-: douib ^ .: 'to ~ .. ^" are , the opinions of Francis Joseph withi respect to Prussia , but her knew better than toi risk his position in Italy without the certainty of gaining an " advantage on the Rhine . With or without Lombardy , Austria ,, after the battle of Solfeiino , was totally unable to take an effective part in a campaign against Prussia on the Rhine ; Even at this -present moment , in the event of such a campaign , her forces would be fettered in Italy and Hungary . We laugh at such second-hand fables of Austrian generosity * They are opposed to all Austrian traditions . The Prussians seem to be growing somewhat ashamed of the continual state of alarm in which they are held by the restless policy of Loijis Napoleon , The Emperor of the French , they say , is not the only man who can enter the lists for an idea . If France can lend her armies for Italian unity , so can Prussia , If France can fight for * ' La Volante Nationale , " Prussia can fight for constitutional " ¦ ' liberty .. ' ' Luckily , too , ^ Prussia represents an ~~ iaea . which , tothe lnteJjigent classes of all nations , is as pre ^ gnTinir with meaning and affords as animating a , battle-cry as " Liberte , Egalite , Fraterriite ; " or , " Vive la Republique , " or " Vive rEmpereur . " Prussia ' s idea is civil and religious liberty ; a nd her cry " Long live our Constitutional King , and Down with ¦ all ; Despots . :- ¦ , ' ¦'¦ ' ¦ ¦ ¦ ' " ¦; . ¦ ¦ ¦' ., . ;¦ ¦ . ' ¦ ¦¦¦ l ; . ' 7 " ' . ' ¦ . ' , /¦ . '¦'¦' The truth of a report , for some time past in circulation , as to an intended meeting between the Prince Regent of Prussia and the Emperor of Austria , is thus confirmed by the Prussian Gazette ; r — -The relations between , the two great German Powers having become latterly much more cordial , his Majesty Francis Joseph desiring to form acloser alliance with his brother confederates , has expressed his wish in an autograph letter for an interview with his Royal Highness the Prince Regent . The place of meeting the Emperor leaves to the option of the Regent , who has fixed upon Toplitz . The meeting will take place on the 26 th inst ., and it is expected that several of the other princes of Germany vrm attend . . ' ¦¦ . ' " ' . ¦ . ' ' ¦ ¦ ' . ; Mr . Ward , late Consul at Leipsic , has been appointed Consul General to the Hanse towns , in the room of Colonel Hodges .
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690 Tlie Saturday Analyst aMLeadm * . [ July 28 , I 860 .
The Rhetoric Of Conversation.* The
THE RHETORIC OF CONVERSATION . * the
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I I - 'UJN subject pt conversation , muoh hus been said ana \ J in all generatione . Every parent , © very schoolmaster , every religious teacher , has in his turn , time , and place counselled the child and the man as to the nature and oharaoter of what lie should say or what ; lie should hear . Standing forth more prominently , hpwover , than all other counsels upon the eubjeot , is tho essentially calm and oompre-..... heneivesentencei _^ JJetyQur-oonvcrsatioEuba yea , . voar ^ nav ^ nayjjfor _ ¦ whatsoever is more than this comoth of evil . " One would think there was not much art in conversation , if this were all it ever ombraeed . Yot in this very sontenoo is contained not only tho religion , but the rhetorio and philosophy of conversation . ] Io who uttered thoso words * The Ithetork <[/ Co / ircrmtion ; with Hints specially to Christians oil the use < iftf'f Toiiyue . By a . W . Horvoy , Uilltotl , wJtU Introduotlon , by ( ho ltuv . rttopliou Jonncr , JV 1 . A . I-oiiUoiw itluhnnl liontloy . . Kmty * , - By tho lota Georgo HrinUoy , M . A ., Xibrarlnu of Tiiulty CoIIoro , CninbrUlgo . Kditoil by William Ocorgo Clark , A 1 , A . London : Aluumlllan unil Co . The Grand Volunteer Revieto . By Ooorgo Augustus Snla . To wlilch U tuldeu , mi Account of tho Wimbledon III do Match , aikI tho distribution of Prizes nt tho Crystal l ' aluco . London : William TliiHloy . The Collected Wortm ff Dug aid Stewart , Etq , ^ F . ll . 3 , 8 . SupplomonUiry Volume . Edinburgh i Thomas Oonetablo and Co ,
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), July 28, 1860, page 690, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2358/page/10/
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