just idea of the subject. Had his applauding admirers been less inclined to consider his illustrations as beautiful metaphors, and had they opened their minds to the importance of the great empire they professed to govern, our thirteen colonies would not have been so disgracefully torn from the bosom of the mother country. Not many years elapsed, after the publication of the two great speeches on America, before even Lord North was obliged to admit that Burke's eloquence was really profound wisdom. But not even his eloquence, not even his wisdom, is more admirable than his philanthropy. This is seen as much in his speeches and writings on India as in those on America, but then it is exercised in behalf of people for whom, in general, Europeans have little sympathy. This philanthropy is one of the characteristics in which he most excels the great Roman orator. There is nothing more likely to enlarge the mind than to compare the spirit of Burke's speeches with that of Cicero's declamations against Catiline and Verres, and the other celebrated remains of Roman eloquence. It is only by such an attentive consideration, and such a course of systematic study, that we can form a good idea of the difference between ancient and modern civilization. There was much difference between a country that had been subjugated by Roman arms, and a country that had been colonized by Roman people. The happiness of the conquered millions seldom occupied the thoughts of the Roman statesman; their prosperity was nothing when placed by the side of the glory of Rome. It was the city of the seven hills, it was the reputation of the eagles that had so often followed in the footsteps of victory, it was the applauding shout of the multitude that accompanied the car of triumph down the Sacred Way, it was the sympathy of the citizens whose votes he solicited in the Campus Martius, to which all the efforts of the prætor or consul were directed. The greatest Roman patriot, the immaculate Brutus himself, was charged with extortion; and Verres seems to have been only a little more imprudent and barefaced than many other provincial governors. Times of corruption are times when civil freedom is the most endangered. No great assembly was ever more corrupt than the Roman senate, when the republic verged toward its downfall. The wealth of the provinces was regarded as the prey of the fortunate prætors who held the temporary domination. In those days there was no "special correspondent" in the different countries, eager to point out any peculation, cruelty, or maladministration on the part of the rulers. The facts which we glean from the literature of Rome indicate that the yoke of the republic was not easy to bear; but the groans of the oppressed seldom reached the ears of the citizens who stood listening to Cicero's eloquence until the clouds of night had gathered over the proud city. And this great orator was scarcely more enlightened than his hearers. It cannot be denied, that admirable as the writings and speeches of the Greek and Roman statesmen are, yet the declamations against tyrants, and the praise of liberty, however fine they might sound in the ears of the sympathizing listeners, can scarcely be applied to the present state of the world. Their terms are indeed very vague; their ideas of freedom never embraced all mankind. Political philosophy as yet was not; but it was even a gentler influence than any that political philosophy can ever exercise that first loosened the shackles from the hand of the slave. It was Christianity that first taught, and by something better than even the eloquence of Plato, that the whole human race was connected together by a chain that could never be snapped asunder, and that the most degraded wretch bearing the image of man was the brother of the proudest citizen of Rome. There is nothing, indeed, so easy as indefinite declamations in favor of freedom. So far from these being characteristics of the best times, we may be assured that when they are most general society is in an unhealthy state. In the time of Nero, Seneca ranted about liberty. These always were Burke's opinions. Even in his speeches on America, he never indulges in any loose expressions. We see here, as everywhere, his aversion to those general principles that had no relation to times and different social conditions. He never liked to discuss the abstract rights of Parliament. Lord North was much more ready to talk about Brutus and Cato than his opponent, who was endeavoring to maintain the unity of the empire. "Be content," he exclaimed, when taunted about the rights of the colonies, "to bind America by laws of trade; you have always done it. Let this be your reason for binding their trade. Do not burden them by taxes; you were not used to do so from the beginning. Let this be your reason for not taxing. These are the arguments of states and kingdoms. Leave the rest to the schools; for there only they may be dis cussed with safety." And then he says that he considers the imperial rights of Great Britain and the privileges of the colonies to be quite reconcilable. The Parliament sat at the head of the empire in two capacities: the one, as the local legislature of this island; the other, as the superintendent, guide, and controller of all inferior legislatures. The powers of Parliament were therefore boundless; but it did not follow that it was wise on all occasions to use those boundless powers. There ought to be a competent sovereign power; but it ought to be no ordinary power, and never used in the first instance. Such, sir," said Burke, "is my idea of the constitution of the British empire, as distinguished from the constitution of Britain; and on these grounds I think subordination and liberty may be sufficiently reconciled through the whole; whether to serve a refining speculatist or a factious demagogue, I know not; but enough, surely, for the ease and happiness of man." 66 We have now seen Burke in many different circumstances, in times of peace and in times of confusion; in poverty and obscurity, as well as when he was playing a great part in the face of the world. If his opinions and principles have been found systematical and consistent during all those varied scenes, if he have preserved some uniform character, so that he may be considered as a man not likely to adopt or abandon his sentiments and ideas for the convenience of the hour, we may with some interest and profit follow him through the still more perplexing and awful scenes of his closing years. His life had all the interest of a drama; scarcely one great act concluded, before another and a still greater commenced; and the final one was the grandest, the most important, the most startling of all. But the observations we have presumed to make on this first half of his political life and writings would perhaps be incomplete if we were to make no mention of his visit to France about the year before he delivered his speech on American taxation. His mind was then occupied with these Transatlantic affairs. But he little knew all the mighty effects that the American revolt would have on the world. Grenville, in one sense, may be said to have caused the great continental revolution; for undoubtedly his ill-judged and arbitrary proceedings awoke the infant democracy that was slumbering amid the American forests. The spirit, however, once roused, was not to be again laid at rest. Deep called unto deep; young democracy from the other side of the Atlantic gave the death-stab to the old feudalism of Europe. Thus society was dying, and society was being born; the old system was going out, and the new was coming in. It may seem singular, but to those who really understand his writings, quite natural and proper, that Burke should have been the greatest admirer and defender both of Young America and Old France. He stood by the cradle of the one; he watched the death-bed of the other. THE GERMAN UNIVERSITIES.-The German, Universities are well off for teachers. In the twenty-seven institutions of the kind last summer term, there were engaged 1586 teachers, viz: 816 ordinary, 330 extraordinary, and 38 honorary professors, with 403 private tutors, exclusive of 134 masters of languages, gymnastics, fencing and dancing. Munster has the fewest teachers, numbering only 19, Olmutz 22, Innspruck 26, Gratz 22, Berne and Basle each 33, Rostock 38; on the other hand Berlin has 167, Munich 102, Leipzic and Gottingen each 100, Prague 92, Bonn 90, Breslau 84, Heidelberg 81, Tubingen 77, Halle 75, Jena 74. The whole nember of students in the last term was 16,074; Berlin counting 2199, Munich 1817, Prague 1204, Bonn 1026, Leipzic 846, Breslau 831, Tubingen 768, Gottingen 691, Wurtzburg 684, Halle 646, Heidelberg 624, Gratz 611, Jena 434, Giessen 409, Freiburg 403, Erlangen 402, Olmutz 396, Kongisberg 332, Munster 323, Marburg 272, Innspruck 257, Griefswald 208, Zurich 201, Berne 184, Rostock 122, Kiel 119, Basel 65. From Bentley's Miscellany. KAUNITZ AND CHOISEUL. THE personal qualities of great statesmen are but rarely exhibited in the routine of public affairs, under the stereotyped form of official intercourse. Etiquette and diplomatic reserve mask, in a great degree, those characteristic traits which portray the individual, and distinguish him amongst his fellows; these qualities, it is almost needless to add, are only displayed unreservedly in the familiar scenes and habits of private life. The two celebrated personages, whose names appear at the head of this article, are so well known to the reader of history from the conspicuous figure they make in its pages, and especially from their combined efforts, about a century ago, to reconcile the previously conflicting interests of Austria and France, that it will be sufficient for us to give a brief summary of their public career. Our principal object is to place before the reader some curious particulars not previously known of the private life of each of these ministers, whose domestic habits and social peculiarities offer a good subject for comparison and contrast. These anecdotes, for which we are chiefly indebted to the pen of Baron Von Gleichen,* Danish Ambassador to Spain, serve moreover to throw some light on a state of manners now become almost obsolete. Wenzel Anthony Dominic, Prince of Kaunitz Rietberg, was the son of Count Maximilian Udalrick von Kaunitz, and of Marie Ernestine, heiress of the last Count of Rietberg, and was born at Vienna in 1711. Being the youngest of five brothers, he was destined for the church, and received a living at the early age of thirteen. As his brothers happened, however, to die young, he abandoned the ecclesiastical profession in order to follow a political career. After studying at Vienna, Leipzig, and Leyden, he made the tour of England, France, and Italy; and on his return to Austria he was appointed See his "Denkwurdigkeiten," p. 199. 8vo. Leipzig, 1847. member of the Aulic Council, besides filling other offices of trust. He was sent by Maria Theresa as ambassador extraordinary to the Pope and to Florence, in 1741, and he was employed on a mission of the highest importance to Turin, in 1742, relating to the coalition of Sardinia and Austria with England against the Bourbon powers of France, Spain, and Naples. His official reports excited great interest on this occasion, and Maria Theresa is reported to have handed over one of them to the Secretary for Foreign Affairs, with the remark-" This is from our first chancellor." In 1744, Kaunitz accompanied Prince Charles, of Lorraine, to his government in Flanders, and remained there in offices of great trust and authority till the French conquered the greater part of the Netherlands, when he requested the Empress to remove him to a more congenial field of activity. She consented to grant him a temporary leave of absence, upon which he went to London, whence he proceeded to the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1747, where he earned a high reputation. He was soon after this appointed Minister of State, and then Ambassador to Paris, where he effected the reconciliation between Austria and France. He returned to Austria in 1752, where he was loaded with honors, filled various important offices, and was finally raised to the dignity of a Prince of the Empire, in 1764. He remained at the head of the department for foreign affairs during the reigns of Joseph II. and Leopold, though his influence gradually diminished. On the accession of Francis I., 1792, he obtained leave to resign most of his government appointments on account of his advanced age, and he died in June, 1794. He left four sons, of whom only the second, Dominic Andrew, left an heir; but the latter having only female issue, the princely line of Kaunitz has become extinct in the male branches. Gleichen, who knew Kaunitz in his later years, observes:-" He was tall and well made, his dress was recherché, although his perruque with its five tails had a somewhat comical appearance; he was dignified in his carriage, solemn and rather pompous in his speech; yet his stiffness became him better than many other Austrian lords; it seemed to suit him exactly; it had even the charm of a natural manner, and bore the impress of superiority." might have turned to useful account, was the following:-"Never to do himself what another could do in his stead." "I would rather make paper matches," he used to say, "than write a line that another could write as well as myself." We find, accordingly, that he was so economical in his writing, that he was in the habit of signing letters of secondary importance only with a K. On the other hand, he had made it a rule never to leave his office till all business on hand was settled; and it was owing to this circumstance that his dinners were so often delayed, and took place at such irregular hours. One would infer from his tendency to com His general salutation consisted in a mere nod; he bestowed a paternal smile on his friends, and a patronizing address on indifferent persons. He was kindly, upright, loyal, and disinterested, although he expected the various courts to make him presents of wines, horses, pictures, and other favorite articles. He carefully employed select ex-plete everything he undertook, and from the pressions in speaking, and his delivery was slow and very measured; no one ever possessed a more comprehensive acquaintance with technical terms, and it was a great recommendation with him for a man to be familiar with them. He was as easily seduced by a nice expression of this nature, as the Duke of Choiseul by a bon mot. He was erudite, he loved the arts, especially painting, and favored artists of every class. complished workmen, even in the lower walks, claimed his especial attention, and he had a real passion for well-finished works. His wisdom, his sang froid, his excellent judgment, and his long experience, had justly earned for him the title of the political Nestor of his time. He was fortunate enough to have a taste for many things, without being the slave of a single passion. His friends complained because he did so little to advance their interests, but his enemies had no cause to complain of any injury or revenge on his part. He listened with the greatest attention and patience to the most prosy details, and answered carefully every point, without, however, in general permitting any reply. prudent caution with which he treated everything that occupied him, that written composition would have cost him more trouble than other men; but what he did write was perfect. He seldom bestowed much attention on persons visiting him, which had the effect of eliciting from them a proportionate increase of flattery, and induced them to pay especial attention to things of pressing inAc-terest, such as his health. In his latter years it was often a painful matter to transact business with him, on account of his deafness, and because he had so little restraint over himself. It was very difficult to obtain a private audience from him, and it was accordingly necessary to talk very loud with him before a crowd of people, and to expose yourself to his frequent sallies of irritability. He was very sparing of his labor, and seemed often to waste his time in idle amusements, and even in puerilities; but his object in doing this was to save himself the time and season for reflection, and to keep his head clear and his judgment cool. One of his leading maxims, which was often in his mouth, and which the Emperor Joseph It must be confessed that he thought more of his own health than of anything else, and in this respect he was an egoist. He endeavored to keep every vexation at a distance, and made every consideration yield to his convenience, his habits, and his health. Even as a young man he had induced the Empress, Maria Theresa, to suffer him to close the window, and to remain covered in her pres ence. In winter he had a surtout and a cloak, which he in turns drew off and on, to preserve an equable temperature. Towards the end of dinner the attendants used to bring him a looking-glass, together with the whole apparatus of a dentist, and then he used to clean his teeth carefully before the whole company without any ceremony. On one occasion he happened to dine at the French Ambassador's, Baron Breteuil. When he was about to begin washing his teeth, as usual, his host arose with the words: Levons nous, le Prince veut être seul. From that day Kaunitz never dined abroad. Being in the habit of retiring at eleven o'clock at night, he would not break the rule for the sake of an archduke, or even the Emperor himself, and if he happened to be playing billiards with him at that hour, he would throw down his cue, make his bow, and leave him to himself. He had a particular aversion to scents, and whenever a lady, although a stranger to him, happened to be scented, and attempted to place herself beside him, he would say to versation at his table to be animated, and for her drily: "Remove, Madam, you are offen- his guests to entertain him. One day, when sive." In order to shun the thoughts of no one was in the mood to talk, he said to death and old age, he would not suffer people Madame Clary, whose province it was to to know his birth-day or to speak of a dying select the guests and to do the honors of the man in his presence; and he was only in-house: "It must be confessed, Madame, that formed of the death of his favorite son, al- you have invited a very silly set of people." though he knew him to be ill, by his valet-de-On another occasion he said, during a similar chambre handing over to him a suit of mourning. Shortly before his death he said to his son Ernest Christopher :* "My friend, I feel that it is all over with me; comfort me and cheer me." The estimation in which he held himself was so candid, that he used to speak of himself just as if he were a third person. The Emperor Joseph had caused two busts to be prepared-one of Marshal Lacy, the other of Prince Kaunitz. A Latin inscription had been placed under that of the Prince, full of merited eulogies. Some one happened to praise the excellency of the wording of this inscription in the presence of Kaunitz, and the latter replied, "I am its author." He was a great connoisseur in horse-flesh, and he was flattered if you admired him when riding, which exercise he took daily before dinner. The British Ambassador, Keith, once sent an Englishman to him, and advised him to compliment Kaunitz to the utmost of his ability, and so as to suit a man blazé with flattery. The Englishman, whose forte did not lie in paying compliments, blundering and blushing, brought out the words: "Ah! Ah! Prince, you are the greatest groom that I have seen in all my life." "I readily believe it," was the only answer that he received. Old age greatly embittered the temper of the Prince, and his irritability occasionally amounted to insolence, and an unfeeling treatment of men whom he did not particularly esteem. Prince Sulkowsky, one of the most familiar faces at his table, and a great flatterer of the minister, happened one day to be talking with his neighbor at the moment when Kaunitz sent him a ragout by a favorite footman, and refused the dish somewhat harshly. Kaunitz observed this, and said, Prince, if you give blows to my servants, shall tell them to return them." This was rather too much even for Sulkowsky, who demanded satisfaction from the son of the chancellor. The matter was set at rest by an apology from Prince Kaunitz, and Sulkowsky is said to have dined habitually at the table as before. Kaunitz liked the con * Born June, 1737, deceased 19th May, 1797. I pause in the conversation: "I would sooner hear nonsense than nothing." The Count of Merode, one of his flatterers, thereupon said: "It must be confessed that Mr. Pitt is the greatest minister in Europe. Are you now satisfied with me, Prince ?" He piqued himself on showing his pride to those in particular who were entitled to display some pretension before him. When Pius VI. came to Vienna and offered him his hand, which all the world struggled to kiss, Kaunitz contented himself with taking it in his own, and squeezing it most heartily. An ambassador, who was invited to dine with him. for the first time, not having yet appeared in the drawing-room when the Prince entered, he hastened to have dinner served, and sat down without waiting for his guest. The following day, however, he deferred his dinner, because the ballet-master, Naverre, had not arrived. When Joseph II. took the helm of the state into his own hands, under the pretext of sparing the health of the minister, and of not disturbing his habits, he begged him not to come to the palace, but to suffer the Emperor to visit him at home. Nevertheless, this monarch did nothing of moment without him, and every measure that implied a diminution of his influence was accompanied by the most flattering assurances of profound respect. Kaunitz enjoyed a similar distinction during Leopold's reign, and Gleichen saw this monarch and the Empress enter the minister's garden, in order to present to him the King and Queen of Naples. It is somewhat remarkable that the dust of the man who eradicated the germ of so many wars between France and Austria, should repose on his property at Austerlitz! Let us now hear what a Frenchman says of him. Flassan* portrays him as follows:"This minister possessed all the qualities of a statesman: fine discrimination, a ready and subtle spirit, penetration, elevation of mind, correct perceptions, and much cleverness in business; a disinterestedness tried by experience, discretion, dignity, a strong and enlightened understanding, which rescued him * Histoire de la Diplomatie Française, v. 223. |