'^MZ^i^c'-''' MEMOIES OF PEINCE METTEENICH .'xyv' w v »^ AyvxvA/v/x/ THIRD VOLUME MEMOIES OF PEINCE METTEENICH 1815-1829 EDITED BY PEINCE EICHAED METTEEXICH TRE PAPERS CLASSIFIED AND ARRANGED BY M. A. de KLINKOWSTROM TRANSLATED BY MRS ALEXANDER NAPIER VOLUME III. NEW YORK CHAELES SCEIBNEE'S SONS 743 AND 745 Broadway 1881 / PREFATOBY NOTE. The reader having now advanced well into the Memoirs of Prince Metternich, a few remarks as to their arrange- ment may not be without interest. The two volumes already published contain a history of the Prince's career from 1773 to the peace of 1815, chiefly in the Memoirs he left behind him. These Memoirs do not extend, however, in their completed form beyond the period of the Congress of Vienna, with a brief exception during the closing years of the Prince's hfe. The history of the important events contained in the present volumes is drawn, therefore, from the private correspondence of Prince Metternich, which is at this period very copious and interesting, and, being addressed to members of his family or to intimate friends, is less formal than the autobiography. We here meet also with the first impressions of the Prince on the events of the day, imparted freely in confidence, with no idea of their future publication, to some of the chief per- sonages of the State. The present volumes deal principally witli the inter- nal affairs of the Austrian Empire in the years 181G and 1817 ; the period of the Congresses, 1818 to 1822 ; and VI PREFATORY NOTE. the complications arising from the Russian advance upon Turkey, ending in 1829. The succeeding vohimes will embrace the period from the July Revolution of 1830 to the retirement of Prince Metternich in 1848, also the last eleven years of the Prince's hfe. The reception which the earlier volumes of this work have met with from the public is a proof of the universal and lively interest taken in the life of the great Chancellor. In the criticisms which have appeared, notwith- standing the diversities of national feeling and senti- ment, the master-spirit of the great statesman, and the important role he played during the most brilliant 2:)eriod of Austria's power, are unanimously acknow- ledged. A fresh generation has sprung up. These Memoirs will place before it a life-like portrait of Prince Metter- nich. EDITOR. CONTENTS OF THE THIRD VOLUME. FOURTH BOOK. THE INTERNAL AFFAIRS OF THE EMPIRE IN THE YEARS 1816, 1817. The Year 1816: Ideas on a Concordat of all the States of the German Confedera- tion with the Ivomau Court (208) . . . The Treaty of Munich concerning the Cession of Detached Portions of the Country of Bavaria to Austria (210) . Metteruicli's Leave of Absence (211) Kegulation of Money (212, 213) The Year 1817 : Journey to Leghorn in the Suite of the Archduchess Leopoldine, the nevrly married Princess of Portugal (214 to 227) At the Baths of Lucca (228 to 233) " . Conclusion of the Course of Baths at Lucca (234) Visit to the Courts of Modena and Parma (235 to 237) . The Existence of Sects in Central Europe (238) . The Bible Societies and the Emperor Alexander (239 to 241 ) The Intentions of Naples as to Benevento and Pontecorvo (242) Organisation of the Central Administration in Austria (243. 244) Tlie Internal Condition of Italy (24-5, 246) . . . . Annals of Literature (247, 248) ..... Negotiation with Rome on Ecclesiastical Affairs (240) PAGE 3 9 14 15 24 45 53 54 58 (52 71 74 88 108 110 FIFTH BOOK. LUSTRUM OF THE CONGRESS. The Year 1818 : The Carlsbad Waters (250 to 257) Journey to the Rhine (258 to 265) . Residence in Aix and Return to Vienna (266, 2Q7) The Journey to Aix (268 to 298) . The Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle (299 to 302) . 117 126 140 165 182 vm CONTENTS OF THE THIRD VOLUME. Results of the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle : a Memoir, by Gentz (303) ' . . 189 Projects for Reforms in Prussia (304 to 306) . . . .197 On the Question of the Jews (307) 209 The Year 1819 : Letters from Rome, Naples, and Perugia (308 to 326) . . .211 Letters from Italy and Carlsbad (327 to 334) 240 The Assassination of Kotzebue (335 to 350) .... 253 Metternich's Meetings with Kiug Frederick William at Teplitz (351,352) . 295 Results of the Carlsbad Conferences (353 to 359) . . . 309 From Carlsbad to Vienna: Letters (360 to 373) . ... 333 Beginning of the Vienna Conferences (374 to 378) . . . 343 Object and Importance of the Conferences (379, 380) . . . 347 Tht: Year 1820: Eventsof the Day and Family Life: Letters (381 to 407) . , 357 Excursions into Bohemia and Cobnrg : Letters (408 to 425) . . 374 Outbreak of the Neapolitan Revolution : Letters (426 to 445) . 385 From Troppau: Letters (446 to 467) 397 Progress of the Vieinia Conferences : Letters (468 to 470) . . 409 Wurtemberg's Resistance to the Competence of the Vienna Con- ferences (471 to 473) 414 Metternich's German Policy (474) 422 Results of the (Conferences in Vienna (475, 470) . . . . 428 Stateof Political Affiiirs, May 1820 (477) 432 Austria's Position with Regard to the Revolution in Naples (478 to 480) 433 Results of the Troppau Congress (431 to 485) .... 443 Metternich's Political Profession of Faith (486 to 488) . . . 453 The Year 1821 : The Congress at Laybach : Letters (480 to 525) . . . .477 Return to Vienna : Letters (526 to 542) 498 Visit to the Court of Hanover : Letters (543 to 546) . . . 509 Expense of the Neapolitan Expedition, &c. (547) . . . . 513 The Neapolitan, Piedmontese, and Greek Insurrections (548 to 550) 519 Co-operation of the Russian Army (551) ... . . 528 Results of the Laybach Congress (552 to 554) .... 535 Metternich's Mission to King George IV. of England in Hanover ( 555, 550) Prince de Carignan's Share in the Revolutionary Intrigues in Piedmont (557) 553 561 The Year 1822: Complications with f !apo d'Istria, i^-c. : Letters (558 to 002) . . On the Journey to V(>vona and back : Letters (603 to 614) . Austi-ia's Attitude in the Eastern Questitm (615) . . . . Tatistscheff's Mission to Vienna, &c. (616 to 621) Victory of the Austrian over the Russian Cabinet (622 to 625) . Outbreak of the Spanish Revolution (626, 627) . . . . Austria's Understanding with England on the Eastern Question («28) Results of the Congress of Verona (629 to 636) .... 564 593 601 609 626 637 639 651 BOOK lY. THE REGULATION OE THE INTERNAL AFFAIRS OF THE EMPIRE. 1816-1817. VOL. If I. B TEE INTERNAL AFFAIRS OF THE EMPIRE IN THE YEARS 1816-1817. 1816. IDEAS ON A CONCORDAT OF ALL THE STATES OF THE GERMAN CONFEDERATION WITH THE ROMAN COURT. 208. Metternicli to the Emperor Francis, Verona, April 5, 1816. 208. During the negotiation of German affairs at the Vienna Congress, I made it my duty to direct the attention of the ambassadors there assembled to the advantages which must ensue to the whole German body politic, as well as to the Princes themselves, from a uniform treatment of the general affairs of the Church (now in a deplorable state) at the future Diet. I at that time maintained the closest intercourse with the vicars of Constance and Mlinster, who were at Vienna, and I believe that I prevented the acceptance of the views of a so-called deputation from the German Church then in Vienna, which consisted of some wild enthusiasts who, probably without intending it them- selves, acted in the most exaggerated interests of the Eoman Church. The principle that ecclesiastical affairs should be considered in council at Frankfurt met with general approval from the German Princes of the second and third class. The Kins; of Wurtemberj^ alone, intent B 2 4 INTERNAL AFFAIRS OF THE EMPIRE. upon his so-called rights of sovereignty, who had, in consequence of those very principles, taken no direct part in the last negotiations, endeavoured to isolate himself from this ecclesiastical question also, and, with- out further ceremony, to enter into negotiations with the Eoman Court about a concordat of his own. Cardinal Consalvi, whose general political conduct cannot be sufficiently praised, remained faithful to the promise I had obtained from him, that he would enter into no separate negotiation with German Princes with- out my consent. He referred the matter to Rome. The conclusion of the Congress, and the great military and political events which followed it, brought these intrigues to an end. ' Since the meeting of the German Ambassadors at Frankfurt I have given your Majesty's ministers instruc- tions concerning this matter ; and the efforts of the King of Wurtemberg for a speedy and separate con- cordat with Eome smoothed the way quite naturally. Up to this time I have succeeded in preventing this concordat. I agree with Councillor Lorenz* on the subject of a common basis for the negotiation of the affairs of the German Church, based on our ecclesiastical principles ; and I have only to point out the further course of an affair which I consider one of the most important that has to be decided at the future Diet. In this, as in every great negociation, very much depends on the point of view from which it is taken into consideration. In my opinion, Germany must be induced to adopt an ecclesiastical constitution, and to * He had given an official report concerning the future ecclesiastical constitution, which was submitted to Metternich's attention. — Ed. DESIRE FOR A CONCORDAT. 5 accept our principles without our appearing too eager to obtrude those principles on Germany. By a judicious course we shall, moreover, set a good example to the German Princes ; our principles will become popular in the very same measure as they seem to have sprung up in Germany ; our position with regard to the Eoman Court itself remains correct and vigorous, and will even serve as a protection if we by our example bar the way to the exaggerated claims here and there put forth, as always happens in the course of human aflliirs. Urged by these various con- siderations, I should much prefer to make sure of the views of some excellent superintendent of a German church, and leave him undisturbed to take the initia- tive in the arrangement to be made. It seems to me certain that Baron von Wessenberg — who has meantime been appointed coadjutor at Constance, and has been confirmed in this office by the Pope — is most fit for our purpose : he enjoys the general confidence in Germany, and, I believe, also that of Councillor von Lorenz. If your Majesty vouchsafes your approval, I propose to inform this minister of our ideas fully and without delay, and this can probably best be achieved by sendino; to him the vice-director of theological studies, Augustin Braig. Such an arrangement would ensure the most comprehensive application of our principles being made known to Baron von Wessenberg, who is already devoted to the political system of our Court, and to whom may be disclosed without reserve even the political and religious sentiments of the Imperial Court ; and the Imperial Directorial-Embassy in Frank- furt would be placed in a position entirely in accordance with my views — to support the wislies of the German Church, instead of taking the initiative in this matter. G INTERNAL AFFAIRS OF THE EMPIRE. For greater satisfaction I sliould not only approve but should think it desirable to send the above-men- tioned Augustin Braig afterwards to consult with the Austrian embassy. The nature of the negotiations about to commence at Frankfurt ensures there being sufficient time to carry out these measures. But not till the Diet is constituted, which will certainly be three or four weeks after its opening, will it be possible for our embassy to broach the subject of ecclesiastical affairs, and urge the for- mation of a concordat of all the German States with the Eoman Court. Probably some of the greater German Courts, and certainly Wurtemberg, will attempt some protest. But such important principles are involved that their triumph would be certain if it were not for the petty spirit of the greater German Governments, which often conflicts even with their own State interests. If, how- ever, the idea of a general concordat should not be adopted, an opening is left for separate concordats based on the same principles, and the success of this opening can the less be doubted as these principles are equally suited to the authority and the financial interests of the Princes. It will not, therefoj-e, be difficult to show, that the dissentient Governments will lose, rather than gain by tlieir contumacy ; for whereas, separately, they will be weak against the Eoman Curia, by union among themselves, and by union with the Austrian Church, they would gain in strength. The principles of that body are a guarantee that the cogency of such argu- ments must be evident, and I do not know any example as yet of even the most absolute of German Princes, out of mere self-conceit, putting himself deterioris conditionis in a different position from the other German sovereigns CONCORDATS WITH THE HOLY SEE. 7 — a case which would inevitably occur if tlie King of Wurtemberg should conclude a concordat with the Eoman See more advantageous to it than the concor- dats with the other German Courts.* * The negotiations were begun in this sense, hut were unsuccessful. In the course of the years 1817 to 1830 special concordats were concluded with separate States of the Bund : thus, in 1817 with Bavaria ; in 1821 and 1827 with the States forming the Upper Rhenish Ohiu-ch Province ; in 1824 with Hanover ; in 1827 with Saxony ; in 1830 with Gnesen and Posen, &:c. ; at last, in 1855, after Metternich's retirement, the well-known Concordat of the Apostolic See with Austria was concluded. The aged Chancellor welcomed the appearance of this document with the greatest satisfaction, and took pen in hand to narrate the history of the delay (of half a century) between his first idea of it in 1816 and its realisation in 1855. This paper, written with his own hand in August 1855, is given here to make the matter more plain. It is as follows : — ' The twenty-fifth anniversary of the birthday of the Emperor Francis Joseph (Aug. 18, 1855) has been celebrated in a manner as excellent as significant, by the signature of the Concordat with the Roman Chair. ' No one can be better informed than I of the circumstances which hindered the good work of withdrawing from the encroachments on the Church (called reforms) of which the Emperor Joseph II. had been guilty. 'Put together concisely and faithfully represented, the historical facts are as follows : — ' After the general peace was concluded in 1814-1815, I directed my attention to the painful consequences of Joseph's legislation in ecclesiastical aifairs. While these weighed on the whole empire, their evil influence was particularly felt in Lombardy and Venetia, in the German States of the Bund, and in Hungary. ' The personal feelings of the Emperor Francis were, for political and religious reasons, inclined to the removal of certain conditions existing since the reign of Joseph II. It was otherwise with the officials; indeed, even among the clergy tlie Febronian doctrines had, with exceptions, taken deep root. In the upper departments of the Government I was alone on the side of truth in this important question. I did not allow myself to be discouraged by this position, and continued the solution of the problem on the principles I had laid down in my conferences with Cardinal Consalvi. To assist me in the great undertaking I had selected Propst von Justel, at that time Ecclesi- astical Adviser to the State Council. In the year 1817 the marriage of the Archduchess Leopoldiue with the heir to the Portuguese throne gave me an opportunity to continue the secret negotiations which I had begun with the Roman Chair. I caiLsed Propst von Justel to be sent to Rome, and intended, if the prospect had been favourable of an agreement between the two Govern- ments, to have gone thither myself, after the maldng over the Archduchess at Leghorn. This plan was not carried out, because I saw that the affair was not yet ripe for conclusion. 8 INTERNAL AFFAIRS OF THE EIMTIRE. ' In the year 1819 the Emperor went to Italy, and in the personal inter- course of his Majesty with Pope Pius VII., they came to an agreement, which was, however, frustrated by the difRcidties which the Emperor found placed in the way by the authorities on his return to Vienna. ' Delays of every kind took place. One arose from the sti'ong feeling of Laio (the inviolability of the written law) which in the Emperor's mind amounted to scrupulosity. Another cause was the resistance of the lay and clerical canonists devoted to Febrionianism, against every agreement with the Roman Chair. The revolutionary outbreaks which, at the beginning of the third decade of the nineteenth century, disturbed the peace of Europe, and particularly of Italy, forced the questions between the Empire and Rome into the background : mutual concessions took place between the highest powers, when, I am convinced, an end ought to have been put to the founda- tion of the evil. But I stood alone at the centre of aifairs, and therefore, in spite of my eiforts, there remained nothing but empty negotiations. * When, in the year 1835, the Emperor Francis, who morally quite agreed with me, was near his death, he ordered, in a testamentary document, that the controversy between Church and State should be terminated as quickly as possible, and appointed me and the Bishop of St. Polten (Wagner) executors of his will. The pressure which always follows a change of ntlers prevented the immediate termination of the important task so dear to my heart ; soon afterwards the Bishop whom the Emperor had appointed died. I chose Abbot Rauscher to succeed him, and we took up our position against the officials, but did not succeed in bringing the affair to that issue for which, at last a path was made by the Revolutions of 1848. * The goal is reached ! In this faithful narrative of events the key is given to the delay caused by erroneous ideas, false doctrines, and bureau- cratic influences — hindrances to the victory of truth, and even of common sense — to the best intentions of two Emperors and to my eflbrts.' 9 THE TREATY OF MUNICH, CONCERNING THE CESSION OF DETACHED PORTIONS OF THE COUNTRY OF BAVARIA TO AUSTRIA. Metternich to Von Wacquant, Austrian Plenipotentiary at Munich, Milan, February 9, 1816. 209. The time of the Pnnce Eoyal (at ]\iilan) was passed as much in direct pourparlers between him and the Emperor as in my negotiations with the Prince Eoyal and the Count de Eechberg. If it is difficult to describe to you the persistence with which the former pursued his favourite idea — that of the acquisition of the greater part of the Palatinate — and the tedious conduct of the latter, it is not so with regard to the result of the negotiation. . . . The negotiation turned on three points : — 1st. On the claim of Bavaria to an augmentation of her share, to make up for the loss which she asserts that she has sustained through our exchanges.. 2nd. On her claim to contiguity of territory. 3rd. On her desire to see the negotiations of Munich, joined with those which we are reserving for Frankfurt. The Prince Eoyal, and especially M. de Eechberg, used every effort to sustain the first of these points. It had been explained most positively to him that nothing could alter his Majesty's conviction of the more than sufficient importance of the indemnity offered to Bavaria, and accepted by her, and that consequently we could 10 INTERNAL AFFAIRS OF THE EMPIRE. never admit or sustain a claim founded on a contrary principle. In the first interview of the Emperor with the Prince Eoyal, the latter maintained with much heat a project for the acquisition of a line of communication which had been fully explained to us. The Emperor left no doubt on the Prince Eoyal's mind of his determination in the present negotiation not to maintain this project, which would certainly have met with insurmountable obstacles on the part of the Court of Baden. His Im- perial Majesty merely promised his good offices for the cession of the circle of Main-and-Tauber. This proposal has been definitely accepted by the Prince Eoyal and by M. de Eechberg. We met with very strong opposition on the part of the Bavarian negotiators, with the object of uniting the negotiation of Munich to that of Frankfurt, or, what was equivalent, of subordinating our direct negotiation to the one reserved for the latter city, and thus ex- posing it to new complications. The very decided declaration of the Emperor's determination not to lend himself to an arrangement which, if carried out, would prolong all the annoyances we have experienced in our negotiations with Bavaria for more than two years, has caused the bringing forward of a new Bavarian proposition. The Prince Eoyal asked, while consenting to the complete separation of the two negotiations, that the term of the surrender of Innviertel should be de- layed until the end of the negotiation of Frankfurt, and his Imperial Majesty having declined this demand, the Count de Eechberg reduced it the next day to some districts of Innviertel, which should remain under the same clause, and as a pledge, in the hands of Bavaria. TEEATY OF MUNICH AND CESSION OF TERRITORY. 11 The Emperor, seeing in the adoption of such a mea- sure the very compromises he has decided to avoid, all the more that the minds of our people, now united to the Kingdom of Bavaria, and properly belonging to it, are already too much excited ; and desiring, on the other hand, to prove to the King of Bavaria that he does not wish to prevent the conclusion of an im- portant affair for considerations connected with mere financial details, will endeavour to find a means of attaining both these ends. The simplest of all has pre- sented itself to the mind of his Imperial Majesty. M. de Eechberg has sent to me a statistical and financial valuation of the circle of Main-and-Tauber. His Majesty has decided to, offer to the Prince Eoyal himself to bear the loss sustained by Bavaria from the revenue of this circle, counting from the day of the surrender of the provinces which are to be restored to us, to the day when Bavaria enters into possession of the indem- nity claimed by her as compensation for her renuncia- tion of the contiguity of her territories ancient and modern. . . . The Count de Eechberg having spoken to me of the King's desire to possess the territory which crosses a part of the road from Eeichenhall to Berchtesgaden, which has always been a part of Salzburg, the Emperor sees no difiiculty in granting this request. He claims, on his side, a free passage for his troops on the road from Salzburg to Lofer by Eeichenhall. ... ... It only remains for me to tell you. Sir, of the King's idea of the acquisition of the Palatinate. The Prince Eoyal, seeing the impossibility of engaging us to support his wishes for the acquisition of the Pala- tinate, and still less of imposing them on the Grand Duke of Baden, has ended by requesting to be at least 12 INTERNAL AFFAIRS OF THE EMPIRE. assured of the intentions of our august master the Em- peror in favour of an arrangement which Bavaria could be induced in time to propose to the Court of Baden — an arrangement vrhich should be made amicably and according to the principles of a just compensation. His Majesty did not hesitate to assure the Prince Eoyal that such an arrangement would meet with no difBcultv on his part ; and that, on the contrary, he will be dehghted to contribute, by an amicable intervention, to the recon- ciliation of the Kinof's ^vishes with the interests of the Court of Baden. You will find enclosed full powers for concluding and signing the treaty which you are to negotiate. Metternich to Wacquant^ Verona^ April 8, 1816. 210. The present courier will give you the means of concludincr and sisnincr the final arrangement Avith Bavaria, and it will not be difficult for you to prove to the Ejus: and his minister that our auorust master the Emperor to the unexampled proofs of patience which he has criven in the course of the negotiation has added the greatest condescension to the often um'easonable claims of the opposite party. . . . The date of May 1 is fixed so rigorously that our generals have orders not to allow themselves to be stopped in the occupation of the places ceded to us by Bavaria by any protestation or opposition ; therefore it will be necessary for your Excellency to insist in tlie strongest manner on this surrender, and, if need be. that you should throw on Count de Montgelas himself all the responsibihty of any comphcations which may arise from defective instructions or from a want of good faith on the part of Bavaria. It will be easy for you to prove TREATY OF MUNICH. 13 that the Emperor, determined as he is to admit of no delay or evasions in the recovery of his provinces, feels it impossible to modify any orders whatever given to his civil and mihtary authorities, considering how dis- tant the places to be exchanged are, both from each other and from the present abode of his Imperial Majesty. I agree with you as to the possibihty of the signa- ture taking place on the 13th or 14th at latest.* * The above-mentioned treaty, dated April 14, was published in the usual way. In consequence of this, the places which had been abstracted in 1809 again came into the possession of Austria, — Ed. 14 COUI^T METTERNICKS LEAVE OF ABSENCE. 211. Metternich to the Emperor Francis (Report), April 8, 1816 ; with the Royal Note attached, Padua, April 9, 1816. 211. I need not tell your Majesty liow grieved I am that in a moment like the present I am unable to be of use to your Majesty. My feelings are so well known to your Majesty that they need no asseveration to confirm them. I send your Majesty through Count Mercy my first plan of the journey. I would have gone to Vicenza instead of Padua, but Scarpa warned me that the dampness of that town made it a very in- jurious residence in cases of rheumatic affections. This apphes also to Stra and Venice. In any case, however, your Majesty may depend upon my earnest attention to the state of affairs in Treviso ... * Metteenich. I am convinced of your attachment to my person, and very sorry that you cannot be with me, but I wish you to stay as long as you can, and take care of your- self; and I shall only be glad to see you return when you can do so without injury to your health. Francis. * A letter from Metternich to his mother gives the real reason of this short ahseiice. It is written from Verona, dated April 13, 1816, and says: ' ]\Iy eye is better ; it has never been alarming, but inconvenient and tedious, like all aifections of the eye. The cure which I have begun, and still continue, is doing me much good, in every respect. I have had three years of very great labour, and I prefer to take measures now, rather than wait for what might prove a very serious malady. The Emperor is exceed- ingly kind, and daily gives me proofs of confidence and attachment of which he perhaps hardly knew himself capable. I am more devoted than anyone else to him, and certainly in a more disinterested way than most of his servants.'— Ed. 15 REGULATION OF MONET. 212. A Memorandum by Metternicla,* Vienna, October 12, 1816. 213. A summary view of the result of the gradual withdrawal of Paper Money, Autograph note by Metternich. 212. If the present conference is to have any use- ful end, it seems to me quite necessary to come to some decision as to general principles, or let it be clearly and distinctly explained why there can be no such agree- ment. In a matter like this, questions and answers, objections and counter-objections, may be repeated in endless multiplication, unless it is decided beforehand what we want to ask for, and in what order the ques- tions shall be put. The problem is, to introduce a fixed and regular monetary system to take the place of the present one, which is admitted to be in every respect defective, and to come to a decision upon the now discredited paper money in circulation, which (at least in its present quantity and quality) is the occasion of all these faults and incongruities. Every possible measure concerning this paper- money runs on the lines of one of the following three systems : — 1. The retention of paper in a reduced nominal value. System of devaluation. 2. The abolition of paper money by law — witli or * Metternich was appointed, in 1816, President of the conference sum- moned to remove the tnancial pressure and restore the public credit. — Ed. 16 INTERNAL AFFAIRS OF THE EMPIRE. without equivalent. System of legal or forcible with- drawal. 8. The abolition of paper money by a voluntary and therefore a gradual operation. System of gradual withdrawal. The system of devaluation has the advantage of being simple in execution and rapid in its effects, and the Government remains in possession of its cash. There are, however, many objections to the adoption of this system, one of the greatest of which is that it is the second attempt of the kind, and would be as strongly opposed by public opinion as the finance operation of 1811, at a time of the greatest pressure, although the present attempt does not fall in a time of such pressure. The system of enforced withdrawal from circulation is not capable of any great modification. A difference between a sudden and a periodical withdrawal of the paper money cannot, according to my conviction, exist ; for any calling in of money by law, however it may be announced or declared, concerns the whole amount. Therefore, the only question here is, whether the pos- sessors of the paper are or are not indemnified. No voice has been heard at present, among us at least, in favour of the abohtion of paper money without an equivalent. Those who desire its abolition by a legal arrangement are ready to grant an indemnification to the holders of it, and since such compensation cannot be given in ready money, they are willing to give them interest-bearing national bonds. This second system may therefore be more briefly and more pertinently called the system of consolidation by law — that is, en- forced consolidation. The system of gradual withdrawal admits, indeed, of a far greater variety of combinations and operations. REGULATION OF MONEY. 1 >T But all are agreed that even with this S3'stem, as things are at present, the sum total, or at any rate the greater part, of the paper money must be withdrawn by national bonds that pay interest. Only these bonds should not be introduced compulsorily, like a system of consolida- tion by law, but by free operations as a compensation for the paper money. The system of gradual with- drawal, with the reservation of all the remedial mea- sures applicable to it may therefore be called, in contra- distinction to the others, the system of free consoli- dation. Opinions are at present divided amongst us as to these two systems. Both parties agree in the main point that the State must annually devote a considerable sum to pay the in- terest of the bonds replacing the paper money. If we estimate the paper money in circulation only at six hundred millions, this sum would amount with 2,V per cent, to fifteen millions, with 2 per cent, to twelve millions. The question therefore which must take precedence of all others is this. Can the State, besides the yearly interest due on the present interest - bearing debt, afford annually twelve to fifteen millions for interest on the new bonds ? This question is common to both systems. If it has to be answered in the negative, neither of the two systems can exist (least of all that of forced consoHda- tion, which at once affects tlie whole mass of paper- money in circulation equally). If it be affirmed, tins leads to the further inquiry whether it be better to ex- pend those twelve or fifteen millions of yearly interest once and for all on the consolidation of the paper money, or to leave that sum to be disposed of by the Finance VOL. III. C 18 ' INTERNAL AFFAIRS OF THE EMPIRE. Minister as a maximum for the introduction and per formance of free operations of consolidation. Second chief question : — Which of the two systems of consohdation is the better and the more feasible ? 1. Those wlio maintain the system of consolidation by law must, I am convinced, show — (a) That the compensation assigned by law to the possessors of ^^aper money will be real and not delu- sive : in other words, that the value (namely, the market- price) of the bonds in exchange for the paper money, if not equal should be as nearly as possible equal to the present real worth of this paper money, and should not fall to ^, ^, or even perhaps -^j^, ^V of the nominal value of the paper money. {b) That, after an entire and sudden withdrawal of paper money, other circulating media will be at once or in a short time introduced, and that, in the absence of this, the most ruinous stacfnation in the circulation would not be introduced into all trades cfi'eat and small, a result which would end in the general ruin of the country. (c) That after so rapid and extensive a revolution the Government will be strong enough to raise (if even by violent means) the money it requires for urgent necessities, or rich enough to advance the money for an indefinite time. 2. Can the system of free consolidation with the same ^means as tlie S3^stem of enforced consolidation (twelve to fifteen millions of annual interest) be applied to compass the same ends ? It is incumbent on tlie Finance Minister to prove — (a) Tliat the gradual withdrawal of paper money can be effected by the measures proposed or to be proposed by him. EEGULATION OF MONEY. 19 (b) That the operation will be uninterrupted and will not be prolonged beyond the shortest term pos- sible. (c) That, in case one of his proposed measures should fail by unforeseen hindrances, it would not be impossible to him to replace it quickly by some other and more effective one. When these points are established, the two follow- ing, requiring the greatest attention, must be men- tioned. A. Without at the present moment deciding on either of the two systems of consolidation, I cannot con- ceal my conviction that, in setting forth the reasons for the forced system of consolidation, far more care and even severity must be used than in judging of the single measures which might be proposed for the execution of a free system of consolidation, for the danger is no doubt greater with the former than with the latter. Here (2), at the worst, it is but the further continu- ance of the present burdensome condition: there (1), the possible ruin of the country is at stake ; here (2), a principle already laid down is pursued : there (1), a system actually in force is abolished and replaced l)y one perfectly new. With a free consolidation, the Government remains from beginning to end master of its measures : in the consolidation by law, from the moment the law is proclaimed, every retrogression and even every essential modification is barred. B. I should consider it an evil, the consequences of which would be incalculable, if the investigation of definite questions should check the Government in its progress along its regular path ; or if it sliould take measures not quite consistent with an impartial and prudent deliberation, or with the future appU- c 2 20 INTERNAL AFFAIRS OF THE EMPIRE. cation of the principles which must be established by it.* Summary of the Results of the gradual Abolition of the Paper Money. I. Main Pkoposition. 213. 1. The paper in circulation shall be abohshecl. 2. This abolition shall not take place without a fair indemnification of its holders. 3. The rate of interest for the conversion of paper money into national interest-bearing bonds is 2 J per cent. 4. The maximum of the charge on the State, arising from this conversion, is fifteen millions annual interest. 5. The national debt, hitherto paying an interest of about 15,000,000 W. W. must, at every change from the circulation of paper to that of a metallic currency, sooner or later be charcred with 15,000,000 in C. M. "O n. Present State of Affairs. 1. The paper money in circulation amounts, the reserves of cash being deducted, to 600,000,000. 2. Of this about 40,000,000 is already abohshed in virtue of the patents of June 1, and by the sale of 2,500 bank stock ; the interest on the 40,000,000 amounts to about 400,000 florins C. M. 3. In the treasury are the war contributions and all other revenues, with the deduction of 10,000,000 C. M., employed in the operation in consequence of the patent of June 1. * The patent of October 29, 1816, by whicb a free loan was opened for the withdrawal of paper money was the result of the conference to which the above memoir served as guide. — Ed. EEGULATION OF MONEY. 21 III. Proposed Operation. A loan reckoned for the conversion of 120,000,000 to 150,000,000 withdraws in t]ie first case from circu- lation the sum of 120,000,000 W. W., and costs the State for fresh interest 3,000,000 C. M. IV. Further Course of the Operation. I purposely separate from the sum w. w. total of 600,000,000 A sum of 200,000,000 Which I consider the minimum of paper that (in an altered form) must be kept in circulation, and for the abolition of which, if it ever takes place, quite dif- ferent means must be employed. My examination, therefore, readies only the sum of 400,000,000 Of these — 1. Already abohshed .... 40,000,000 2. Will be abolished by the minimum of the revenue from the next loan . . 120,000,000 3. I think it quite certain that in one way or other, beside the 2,500 already abolished in bank stock, 20,000 more (not altogether half the number pre- scribed in the patents) will have to be abohshed, by which will be called in the further sum of ... . 40,000,000 200,000,000 Therefore, from the above 400,000,000 W. W. must still be withdrawn, by gradual free operations, 200,000,000 W. W. 22 INTERNAL AFFAIRS OF THE EMPIRE. As a beginning of these operations the State may apply— 1. Interest at 2^ per cent. = 5,000,000. 2. Bonuses (by which the payment of higher interests than 2.^ per cent, would be avoided) from the store of ready cash, a sum of about 10,000,000. V. Eesult of the Whole Operation, w. w. 1. Abolished akeady .... 40,000,000 2. Will be abohshed :— {a) By the loan now proposed . . 120,000,000 {b) By bank stock .... 40,000,000 {c) By further operations by credit . 200,000,000 400,000,000 3. One particular withdrawal without increase of the State's load of interest . 200,000,000 600,000,000 In this way the interest to be paid by the State would be — w. w. 1. For the sum already withdrawn . . 400,000 2. For the proposed loan .... 3,000,000 3. For the 20,000 in bank stock . . 1,000,000 4. For further operations .... 5,000,000 9,400,000 General Eemarks on the Preceding Eesult. 1. By this course the State remains in possession of all its stores of ready cash, with the exception of — {a) The 10,000,000 already made use of under the patents of June 1, by which, however, the amount REGULATION OF MONEY. 23 of paper money in circulation lias been reduced to 40,000,000. (6) The 10,000,000 to be used in case of necessity, to assist in the further credit operations. 2. By the present conversion of paper money the State has to bear, not only all the interest for the national debt (the paper money) at present paying no interest, but also tlie interest of the njjtional debt hitherto paying interest in W. W., together with 15,000,000 C. M. ; an annual interest, therefore, of 30,000,000, immediate and without deduction. On the other hand, the interest of the new debt, when the operation is concluded, will not be more than 9,400,000 W. W., so that from the maximum, 15,000,000 W. W., will be saved 5,600,000 W. W., and, with regard to the present debt, the interest has not to be paid in C. M. till the whole operation is finished, so that the State gains for one or two years more the considerable difference between the amount of interest in W. W. and the same in C. M. 24 1817. JOURNEY TO LEGHORN IN THE SUITE OF THE ARCHDUCHESS LEOPOLDINE, THE NEWLY- MARRIED CROWN PRINCESS OF PORTUGAL. Extracts from Metternich's private Letters from June 10 to July 26, 1817. 214. Padua and Venice. HIS. From Covipliajo — wretched accommodation — Cattajo — concert at the house of the Cardinal Legate — Abb^ Mezzo- fanti. 21C. Impression made by Florence — the Pitti Palace — the gallery. 217. Pisa — Campo Santo^the episode of Pernambuco. 218. The Cata- lani. 219. The Pope's illness — Fiesole — the Florentine dialect — the churches of Sta. Annuuziataand Sta. Croce^ — Alfieri's monument by Canuva — picture of the Last Judi^ment, by Tironzino. 220. The order of Eliza- beth sent for Princess Metternich — Dr. Jaeger makes a sensation in Florence. 221. The portrait medallion presented for signing the marriage treaty — the expected arrival of the fleet. 222. The ladies in attendance on the Archduchess. 223. Plan of the journey. 224. To Leghorn — the island of Elba — the American admiral's ship — arrival at Lucca — return to Florence. 225. Preparations for giving over tlie Archduchess — anecdote of Zichy. 227. Arrival of the fleet — Metternich's journey to Lucca. Metternich to his Wife, Padua, June 10, 1817. 214. I arrived here, as I intended, in the evening of the day before yesterday. I have always fancied, and I am quite sure now, that summer is the proper season for Upper Italy. Tliere is as little resemblance between the country, the towns, everything, in fact, in winter and summer, as between a garden in November, during the fogs and mud of that season, and that same garden in the month of Jime. No one can form any idea of the beauty of the country ; VENICE. 25 all the plantations, all the trees, which with us suffer from cold, wind, and dust, are in full vegetation ; all the fields covered with flowers, all those melancholy little gardens of the Brenta full of roses and jasmines and orange trees in flower ; all those houses, which then looked so dilapidated, open and forming charming dwel- lings : in one word, everything is now beautiful. Venice in June and Venice in December are two different cities ; the heat there is moderated by the neighbourhood of the sea ; every evening a breeze springs up which is refreshing but not cold ; in the daytime it is as warm as with us in those beautiful summer days when there is no appearance of a storm. The Piazza in front of St. Mark's is filled with large tents ; the people are in the streets till daybreak ; the cafes close at five in the morning ; the Giudecca and the Grand Canal are covered with gondolas. I walked about Venice yester- day as if it were a city of the ' thousand and one nights.' The women have no longer red hands; blue noses have disappeared, and the only ugly things I have seen are those horrible old witches one meets every- where, their grey hair streaming in the wind, and all having bouquets of roses, or perhaps one great rose fas- tened to their horrid old wigs. I cannot help sending you a sketch which is very much like one of these nymphs of the lagunes, who was hterally coijfee as you see. 216. Covigliajo, June 12. — I write to you, my dear, from our last resting-place before Florence. This place reminds me of the charms of our head-quarters in the Vosges : there is here only one house, and that a very bad one ; the Archduchess has one room ; I sliare one with Floret ; Madame de Khuenburg has a closet near her mistress, without doors or windows ; the rest of 26 EXTRACTS FROM METTERNICH'S PRIVATE LETTERS. the suite sleep in the carriages. I do not know who chose the place, but certainly they could not have chosen a worse. We are in the midst of the Apennines, and no one would suspect we were in la belle Italie if it were not for the number of chesnut woods. Yesterday morning we left Padua and slept at Fer- rara, where we were received by three cardinals. The road from Padua as far as Eovigo is superb ; we stopped on the way to see a beautiful castle (Cattajo) belonging to the Duke of Modena. A wealthy gentle- man named Obizzo took it into his head to bequeath it to the Duke, to show his claim to belong to the House ofEste. The place is curious in itself, and for the beautiful and numerous collections of every kind gathered together by its last possessor. The road from Eovig-o to Lasroscuro, where the Po is crossed, is de- testable ; tlie only clioice is between being drowned in the Po or smothered by the dust of a narrow cause • way. Ferrara is superb, and if it had four times as many inhabitants it would be tolerably filled. We found there the Duke of Modena. The Cardinal Lecrate had arranQ;ed a concert for us in one of the jjreat theatres, not being able to give us a play, which, for want of spectators, can only be managed once or twice a year. This theatre is finer than those in Vienna ; it holds 3,000 persons, and would do honour to a great capital. We left Ferrara this morning at five o'clock. The Cardinal Leorate of Bolocfna c^ave us an eles^ant and very good breakfast at the University, a celebrated and magnificent place. The Librarian, Abbe Mezzo- fanti, is wortliy of his position ; he speaks thirty lan- guages, and as well as if he were a native of each of the thirty countries. I attacked him in German, and I defy anyone not to take him for a Saxon. He has never PADUA AND FLOPvENCE. 27 been away from Bologna, and never had a master. I asked how he got the right inflexions of the language. ' The inflexions,' replied he, ' all spring from the genius of language. I learnt in the grammar that each letter is pronounced in a certain manner ; I read and under- stood it in three months, I could speak it in six, and since then I have held conversations with Germans of different countries. I have done the same with all lan- guages. Indian and Chinese are the only ones that have embarrassed me a little, for I have never had an oppor- tunity of talking either with a mandarin or a brahmin, so that I am not sure if I have surmounted tlie vulgar pronunciation.' I made an inward sign of humility, and thouglit myself a perfect simpleton beside the Librarian of Bologna. 216. Florence, June 14. — We have been here since eleven yesterday morning. It would be difficult to explain to you the kind of impression which Florence must necessarily produce on everyone who loves what is beautiful and grand. All that I have seen up to this time far surpasses my expectations. Great God ! what men they were in past times. Yesterday I went through the gallery of the Pitti Palace and Academy of Fine Arts, as well as the manu- factory of pietra dura. To-day I have seen the great gallery. I shall return here every day that I am in Florence. I declare that I prefer it as it now is to the Museum aa it was. It is difficult to form an idea of this immense treasury of all kinds of things ; the build- ing is magnificent, and above all perfectly adapted to its object. The gallery of the Pitti Palace is a perfect quintessence of beauty, and the great gallery is as beau- tiful as that of the palace. The Venus de Medicis is infinitely better placed than she was at Paris. She is, 28 EXTRACTS FROM METTERNICH'S PRIVATE LETTERS. with four other magnificent statues, in the Tribune of the Uffizi, which is hL^hted from above. There are in the same gallery seven or eight Eaphaels, each more beautiful than the other. Among others there is one which represents the painter's mistress, and it is beyond conception. I protest that the Grand Duke is the richest man in the world. All the monuments left here by Leopold are worthy of the Medici : many even surpass them. The country is fine, more so, however, in my opi- nion, from culture than from its natural features. The town is on the Apennines, in a valley formed by the Arno. Tlie soil is not very good ; nevertheless cul- tivation has made Tuscany one of the most productive countries in the world. It would be quite useless to attempt to count the number of dwellings to be seen from every eminence. Besides hundreds of towns and villages, from one window there may be seen, be- tween Florence and Pistoia, more than four thousand country houses and detached dwellings spread and scattered on all sides. The climate is divine ; there is great heat from eleven till five, but the morning, the evening, and the night are like what a day in Para- dise will probably be. 217. J^me 18. — The day before yesterday I went to Pisa, and returned yesterday. Three or four very violent storms during the day spoilt the illuminations a little, but still they were magnificent. Pisa in itself is very curious. There are three edifices close together, which are as beautiful as possible — the Cathedral, the Tower {campanile), and the Baptistry of St. John. A fourth far surpasses them. The Crusaders, on their return, brought vessels full of earth from Palestine. They placed it in a field, which tliey surrounded with a building, forming THE ARCHDUCHESS DELAYED. 29 a vast, simple corridor, in which are their tombs. Not being able to die in the Holy Land, they wished to be buried in its soil. This is called the Campo Santo. No one can be buried there without special permission from the Grand Duke, and there are many modern tombs. The corridors are used now as a museum. They collect there all that is dug up in the environs of Pisa, and the excavations are considerable. The last news from Lisbon informs us that the Go- vernment has sent two vessels, intended to form part of the convoy of the Archduchess, to blockade Pernam- buco, and they have done well. This will, however, cause a delay of two or three weeks. I shall therefore change my plans. In two or three days I expect the first news from Eome. I shall start (if I take this jour- ney) as soon as they arrive, for that city, where I shall remain ten or twelve days, and then return to Florence. I accompany the Archduchess to Leghorn. If the fleet should be delayed beyond July 15, I shall make over the affair of the surrender of the Archduchess to M. d'Eltz, and shall be, as I told you when I left, at Vienna on the 22nd or 24th. I suppose this affair at Pernambuco will make a great noise at Vienna, and that our gossips are talking as if that town w^ere between^ Purkersdorf and Sieghartskirchen. It appears that the^ rising has made no progress, and that the measures for repressing it were very well managed. It wiU; have no effect on the departure of the Archduchess,, except the necessity of hastily equipping two new ships- to convey her, or rather to complete her escort. I beg- you to mention these facts to the trumpeters of the- good town of Vienna. Por the rest, my journey here is a great and in- estimable benefit. I do not know how the great crisis- 30 EXTRACTS FROM METTERNICH'S PRIVATE LETTERS. brought about by this new complication would have passed over if I had not been on the spot. If my good friends at Vienna cry out for or against my good for- tune, I certainly have the conviction tliat I am doing what is just and right, and at the right moment; the only one in which great things can be done. My pre- sence in Italy has an mcalculable influence on the pro- gress of affairs. If I could be vain of anything that Heaven has helped me to do in the last few years, it would be of the part I am playing at this interesting juncture in Europe. The sovereign of all Italy could not be received as I am , all those who are on the right side — and they are very numerous — crowd round me ; they give me their entire confidence, and look for safety from me alone. The Jacobins hide themselves, and they look upon me as a rod held over them. If I liave ever been inspired in any step I have taken, it was in deciding to come here ; and you are witness that I made up my mind m a quarter of an hour. 218. June 20. — Yesterday we passed a charming evening, a small party having been made at Madame Appony's to hear Catalani sing. The two Archduchesses came and all our suite. She sang in such a way as to make all tlie company wild with delight. She was in good voice, and you would have been as much en- chanted as we all were. Assuredly, if the Holy Virgin mingles her voice witli the songs of the 1/lessed, she must sing like this woman. I shall not decide on my journey to Eome for two or three days. The Holy Father is always so ill that he cannot attend to business ; and as it is to do business with him that I go there, I depend, thank God, on his faculties much more than on my own. 219. Ju7ie 28. — iSTot only does my journey to Rome ii FLOKENCE. 31 become every day more problematical, but it is very probable that I shall not go at all. The Pope, although he is so far better that he has been taken from Castel Gandolfo to the Quirinal, seems unable to do anything ; and as I was going to Eome entirely on business, I should give up my visit if I could not attain my object. Yesterday I had a charming drive. About three miles from the town there is a mountain on which was built the ancient Etruscan town of Fesula^, now Fiesole. There are some remains of antiquity : there are the walls of the old town, which date back to the time of Porsenna ; and in the midst of a field of olives are the ruins of an amphitheatre, now almost entirely covered over by landslips. On a mound are the remains of a temple of Bacchus now transformed into a chapel. It would be difficult to find a more magnificent site ; Florence with its innumerable villas is under your feet ; you can trace the whole valley of the Ai-no, and the valleys which lead to Pistoia and to Volterra. It was here in this town that Gatihne was defeated, and that this precursor of the ' Nain jaune ' * of our time ceased to threaten the existence even of the Eepublic. Many recollections, both ancient and modern, are connected with this place, and with every spot of earth on which one treads. A remarkable thing in this country is the kind of culture which exists among the people. There is not a peasant who does not speak his own language with all the refinement and elegance of an academician of the Crusca. It is interesting to hold a conversation with these good people : their language is that of tlie drawing- room — no jargon, no shouting or raising of tlie voice, * Nain jaune was an illustrated comic journal of the republican colour. — Ed. 32 EXTRACTS FROM METl^ERNICH'S PRIVATE LETTERS. such as one hears in the rest of Italy. A vine-dresser, who looked Hke a half nes^ro, acted as cicerone. This man related and explained everything to me like an antiquary. Among the things which have most struck me are the details of the Church of the Annunziata, the first which was used by the Order of Servites. This church is not very large, but beautiful, and exceedingly rich in marbles. It contains pictures of the first rank, and there is, among other things, as in all the convents of Italy, an interior court surrounded by an open corri- dor, and here all the arches between the columns are painted in fresco by Andrea del Sarto. There are about forty paintings representing the foundation of the order, all of inconceivable beauty of design and composition. Here also is the superb painting of the Virgin with the Infant Jesus and St. Mark, which is engraved in so many ways. One of the arches represents the triumph of the Virgin ; she is seated on a car drawn by a lion and a sheep — charming in idea, so rich and withal so simple. The car is surrounded by angels with ideal figures. These paintings were paid for at the rate of twenty crowns each. The persons who had them painted took care to have their coats-of-arms painted on them. Their descendants assuredly cannot regret the expense. The frescoes are in perfect preservation. In this chmate nothing is injured, however it may be exposed to the air. Given a good painter and a roof, and the pictures will be handed down to posterity. In the Church of Sta. Croce are the monuments of celebrated men. Galileo has a fine tomb, and the Countess of Albany has erected a superb monument to Alfieri, executed by Canova. A colossal female, perso- nating Italy, is represented as weeping over his tomb. The whole thing is more grandiose than beautiful. I BRONZINOS 'LAST JUDGMENT.' 33 know many things of Canova's much better conceived, and which speak more to the soul. There are magni- ficent paintings in this church, among others a ' Last Judgment ' by Bronzino, inconceivably fine as to execu- tion. Christ, seated on an eminence, holds His hand out to the elect, who are issuing from a tomb at His feet. The painter has taken care to place himself with his wife and his daujjliter amoni? them. He seems to have made sure of his own future state. If all who enter Paradise resemble the figures in this picture, it would be a pity if there should be neither pencil nor palette there. I have seen, I do not remember where — at Padua, I think — a small picture, the beautiful conception of which made a great impression upon me. Christ, with an air simple though triumphant, holds up the cross in the middle of a vast grotto. It is the entrance of Limbo. On the right of the picture are the patriarchs weeping with joy and love. St. John the Baptist calls to him a number of beinsrs, who are comino; from all parts of the interior of the cave, and shows them the cross. There is an inspiration in this picture which is quite magical. It is no longer Christ suffering on the cross, but Christ having triumphed over death, and sharing His triumph with the just, who are entering into His kingdom. Expectation and happiness are equally depicted on the faces ; Christ alone is calm,, and St. John more inspired than ever. We hear him> cry from the abyss, ' The hour is come ! ' I have told you of the paintings ; I will j^ass now to- the sculpture, and to something which, without produc- ing chefs-d'ceuvre, is not without merit. It is curious to- see the manufactories of alabaster. You order an enor- mous vase to-day, and they bring it you to-morrow.. You wish for your bust : a man takes a model of you. VOL. III. D 34 EXTRACTS FROM METTERNICfl'S PRIVATE LETTERS, in clay in ten minutes, and in three or four days you have a bust in alabaster, a perfect likeness. Eltz was modelled to-day : a man took a lump of clay, and I declare to you that one could not think more quickly than he made the head, the nose, the mouth, &c. This sculptor, who is not a disciple of Gall, has proved to me — what we knew before, however — that the theory of the said doctor is true in every respect. Eltz was almost finished, but something was wanting ; my man took a step forward, and with a firm hand he raised with his thumbs four or five bumps on tlie head and the sides of the jaws. From that moment the likeness was striking. 220. June 29. — I take advantage of the departure of the military courier to inform yoa, my dear, tliat M. de Maccalon has received news which leaves no doubt about the departure of the fleet. If the winds are favourable it will be at Leghorn about July 15. This same courier has brought with him three decora- tions of the Order of St. Elizabeth : one for the Arch- duchess, one for our Empress, and the third for you. The ribbon is rose-colour ; but the sea-air has faded it so much that it is now a sort of straw-colour. It will be necessary to get new ribbon, and I will send you your decoration as soon as it has become rose-coloured again. As you love the pomps of this world, this news will make you very happy. I am sure that Leontine * will be more delighted than her mamma with the ribbon, and that she will have great pleasure in repeating to her nurse, dass Mama hat schones Band. The order itself is superb ; it is generally given only to queens or princesses of the blood. I do not think I have ever told you about my eye. • Metternich's daughter, afterwards Countess Sandor. — Ed. ORDER OF ST. ELIZABETH. 35 It makes more progress in one day here than it did in eight at Vienna. I am well satisfied, and so is my phy- sician, who is becoming very famous at Florence. He saves every day four or five eyes ; people are more back- ward here in that art than anyone can imagine. Almost all diseases of the eye, even when not serious at first, lead to bhndness, not for want of good eyes, but for want of good doctors. Jaeger * has told me astonish- ing facts on this subject. Just imagine, here they do not know one of the instruments or curative methods which have been adopted by all the world for the last thirty or forty years. Another singular fact is that the poor people do all they can to make themselves blind, for here, as at Rome, it is the blind alone who can exer- cise the profession of mendicants. Jaeger offered to restore a man's sight to him ; the man asked if he would also undertake his maintenance. I have bought two pretty things : a charming copy of Canova's Venus and an enormous alabaster vase, at a ridiculous price. I shall not buy anything else unless I go to Rome, and, as I sluiU not go, I shall buy nothing. 221. Poggio Imperiale^ ' July 1. — Here is your decoration from the other w^orld, my dear Laura. You alone will have a new ribbon, for that which j^ou will receive to-day has become hortensia instead of rose, which it should be, and certainly the rose need not be made more tender than nature has already made it. I send you your decree, with a translation into French, with which Mercy and I amused ourselves yesterday. The turn of the sentences is so original that we have tried to preserve it as much as possible. You must reply to the Queen. The decoration, from its form, seems • Dr. Fried rich Jaeger, a celebrated physician in Vienna, who for many years was Metteruich's private physician, and survived him. — Ed. D 3 36 EXTRACTS FROM METTERNICH'S PRIVATE LETTERS. to go back to the year 801 — that is to say, till the time of Charlemafyne. The Marquis de Maccalon sent me yesterday, for the signature of the contract of marriage, a medalhon with the portrait of the King surrounded by precious stones, but so shamefully painted that he would not let me keep it. The painter, who does not seem to be one at all, has aimed at making his Most Faithful Majesty smile. He has opened his mouth so wide that he was forced to show either his teeth or his tongue. The upper teeth show like a ball of ivory lying on a tongue, to say the least, as thick. Everything convinces me that the fleet must arrive at Leghorn in eight or ten days. We go, therefore, without further delay to settle ourselves there till the moment of embarkation, and I will take my route by Modena and Parma to return to you, and prepare to be made a grandpapa. Metternich to his daughter Marie, Florence, July 3. 222. Time goes on, iny dear Marie, and I am expecting the arrival of this devil of a fleet as if it were the Messiah, in order to regain my liberty, or rather to win it again by handing over the key of the house to M. d'Eltz. It seems, however, that it will be here about the 10th of this month. We shall pass four or five days free at Leghorn, and then vogue la galere. It appears that the feminine part of the Portuguese Court is coming. This makes the ladies' journey to Brazil very doubtful. Of these ladies Madame de Khuenburg is estimable, and has most agreeable manners ; Madame de Lodrin is tall, and Madame de ^^s^lj- Both are very good. There you have their finished por- THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF FLORENCE. 37 traits. Old Edling is very well. His fall has bleached him ; nothing is left of his oUve-colourecl Brazilian cheeks but the cheek bones. His mind has recovered, but he still wanders sometimes. For example, he asked me yesterday (the subject was Marie Louise), ' Is she not at Paris ? ' I said to him, ' Good God, no ; she is at Parma.' ' True,' said Edling ; ' I had forgotten that the Emperor Napoleon had bought Parma ! ' You may be sure I said nothiniij' more to him, for I do not like to waste my words. My health is very good. I have tested anew the perfections of the Court cuisine. I had a charming walk yesterday evening. All the surrounding country is a succession of hills more or less high. All offer the most delicious prospects, all are planted, and too much planted for efiect. The trees are oHves, figs, bignonias, catalpas, all in bloom ; the gardens, even those of the peasants, are filled with orange trees ; the hedges are composed principally of jasmine, others of the flowering arbutus ; there are clematis blossoms large as pompon roses, pomegranates covered with flowers. The vines are not planted in the same way as on the other side of the Po ; a vine is planted by the side of a tree, and, being allowed to chmb up it, ends by covering more or less the whole of it, so that the grapes appear to belong to the tree. All the plants smell twice as sweet as they do with us ; and the grass and the plants at the roadside are so aromatic that by the evening one knows not what it is, but that all the air is perfumed. What adds to the charm of the first part of the night is the immense quantity of small luminous flies, which they call here ' lucciole.' They fly in milHons about all places covered with grass and round the trees. Their light is at least as sparkhng 38 EXTRACTS FROM METTERNICH'S PRIVATE LETTERS. and strong as the sparks from a steel. The whole country seems on fire. The moon of Florence, which, Uke that of Vienna, is near the full, is clear as she never is with us. The air is calm at that hour, about fourteen or fifteen degrees, light and clear. One can well under- stand how tliis beautiful chmate has produced so many- painters and poets. I intend to order at Eome two bas-reliefs from Thor- waldsen. I will have them placed in the two panels, which I will make in stucco, at the end of the small drawing-room at the villa. I assure you people will come to see tliem. Metternich to his Wife, Florence, July 10. 223. Here we are, my dear, at the 10th of the month, and we do not yet know the exact day of the arrival of the fleet. This is my plan of campaign. I sliall leave here on the 20th, whether the Archduchess has been surrendered or not. I shall take eight days from here to Vienna, for I shall stop one day at Modena, and I only wish to travel from five in the evening to six in the morning, so as to allow tlie hours of intense heat to pass, during which I shall rest and dine. Conse- quently I shall be with you from the 27th to the 29th. I shall spend three clear days at Vienna, and shall leave again on the 4th for Carlsbad. If the fleet arrives here on the 20th, I shall effect the transference before my departure ; if not, I shall make over the affair to Eltz. The day after to-morrow I shall probably pass four-and- twenty hours at Leghorn, to inspect the place and arrange everything proper for the ceremony. The weather is so calm that the vessels cannot make mucli way ; it is therefore necessary to reckon on three or even four weeks' sailing, although with a fresh wind VIEW FROM THE LIGHTHOUSE AT LEGHORN. 39 the route from Lisbon to Leghorn takes fifteen or six- teen days at the most. The Archduchess Marie Louise has been here since the day before 5^esterday. We form quite a colony at Poggio. After all, it would hold three times as many people. 224. Poggio, July 17. — I set out for this place on the 14th, at six in the evening, with MM. d'Appony and de Maccalon, the faithful Floret, the amiable Hudelist, and Prince Jablonowsky, who had arrived from Naples. We had five coaches. We arrived at three in the morning at Leghorn. As we all liad been clever enough to sleep in the carriage, none of us cared to go to bed. It was beautiful and fresh, and we had the prospect of a very hot day before us. We therefore decided to go at once to see the port and everything that would have exposed us to the heat of the sun. We began by as- cending the beautiful lighthouse which is at the end of the new pier. There we beheld the first rays of the sun gilding the rocks of the islands of Gorgona, Capraja, Corsica, and Elba. About two miles seaward was the American squadron, which had just left the roadstead of Leghorn, and also two Neapohtan frigates and a brig which the Dey of Algiers had bought at Leghorn, in order to carry off Tuscan subjects in the open sea close by. The whole view was magnificent. Gorgona is about fifteen miles off ; it is nothing but an immense rock inhabited by fishermen and a small Tuscan garri- son. Capraja and Corsica were so flooded with the bright morning light that every valley could be dis- tinguished ; the island of Elba was very plain, but Porto-Ferrajo is too near the level of the sea to be per- ceived at that distance. I could not see that island without thinking of my forced march on March 5, 1815, 40 EXTRACTS FROM METTERNICHS PRIVATE LETTERS. in consequence of tlie news of Napoleon's departure. Having surveyed the whole neighbourhood of the port, we returned, and then took some hours of repose ; at midday we hurried through the shops, of which that of Michelis is the most beautiful and certainly the only one of its kind in the world. There are sold the most beautiful alabasters and magnificent marbles. No one could look at Pisani's who had examined those made at Leghorn. I bought several charming things at a ridi- culous price, considering the workmanship. I went over the spot where the surrender of the Archduchess will take place. We dined at the principal hotel — which did not deserve that title — and at six in the evening we em- barked to pay a visit to the American Commodore. To avoid the firing of guns I would not be announced, and I remained on board till sunset, when tliey do not salute. The flagship has eighty-four guns, and is one of the most beautiful vessels I have ever seen. The Americans, who have a great rivalry with the English, owed their success in the last war to the new construction of their ships of the line, some of which carry as many as ninety guns. They are constructed like frigates, but without quarter-decks, and are fast sailers like frigates, and can consequently overtake these vessels, which in England never carry more than eighty guns. They can also avoid with the same facility vessels of the line of greater tonnage. The Commodore received us with much distinction ; he immediately placed the whole crew under arms, and showed me over every part of his ship. Its whole appearance and neatness are admirable. I do not know if in these respects it does not even sur- pass the English ships ; on the other hand, the style of the crew does not equal that of the latter. The Com- modore is a great amateur of the fine arts and fine AMERICAN MEN OF WAR. 41 animals. He has pictures in his cabin, among others a copy of the portrait of Pope Juhus II., after Raphael, and between decks and on the upper deck African gazelles and a great Canadian bear. Between decks, where the sailors dine, there is on each table a pyramid of very clean vessels, which contain the drink for the sailors, and a Bible distributed by the Bible Society of Boston. The maladie hiblique extends through both hemispheres. After leaving the fleet, we had another look at the shops, which the principal merchants had taken care to have well illuminated. We retired at eleven, and at six we started in the carriage for Lucca. Leghorn is a beau- tiful town, or rather it has one fine square, and one fine street. There is great confusion in this street, and it is like a very busy market. I saw the synagogue, the most beautiful in Italy (there are twelve thousand Jews at Leghorn, who enjoy great privileges). I wanted to visit the Lazaretto for quarantine, but could not find a moment. I reached Lucca at mid-day. The town is old and quite lovely ; the country is as charming as it is pos- sible to see. Lucca is situated in a small plain, in the midst of beautiful \\\(A\ mountains rich in veo-etation. They are clothed with olive trees to the very summit. The country is not cut up as it is in other parts of Italy, and the soil is excellent. At two o'clock I went to Saltocchio, a villa belonging to M. Canamy, who was Madame Ehsa's ecuyer and with good reason ; she is charming. About two thousand steps from that is Marha, a quite divine place, which Madame Ehsa has had built and planted. The house recalls to my mind the most comfortable French cliateaux. The garden is planted in the English style, and that marvellously ; it is large and has a very uncommon appearance, 42 EXTRACTS FROM METTERNICH'S PRIVATE LETTERS. perhaps even unique of its kind, for I know of no other garden in the EngUsh style on this side of the Alps, planted with such a profusion of trees and exotic flowers ; there are, for example, whole groves of magnolias. The climate of Lucca is a great deal milder than that of Florence ; the heat is not so excessive during the summer, and the cold is never more than two or three degrees below zero during winter, so that the most de- licate plants grow in the open air. After taking a turn in the gardens, we dined at Marlia, where I had invited the first people in Lucca. We started again at six in the evening and arrived at Florence at midnight. Two days could not possibly have been spent better or more agreeably. 225. Florence, July 12. — I shall go to-morrow to Leghorn, to prepare for the arrival of my Princess, and I shall leave here to-morrow at six in the evening. I shall be at Leghorn at one or two in the morning ; I shall remain there the whole of the 14th, and leave Leghorn on the loth at two in the morning ; by day- break I shall be at Pisa, which I have seen ; I shall go to the stud of camels belonging to the Grand Duke, the only establishment of the kind in Europe ; fi'om there to the baths of Pisa, and dine at Lucca, where I shall pass the rest of the day. On the morning of the 15th I shall return to Poggio, so I shall have seen a great deal in a short time. The Portuguese fleet should, according to letters from Lisbon of June 10, have left that port on the 18th or 22nd, so it may be expected at Leghorn at any hour. I shall be delighted if it arrives there exactly on the 14th. Here is a charming anecdote of Charles Zichy, the younger. He was at Parma last spring. The Arch- duchess invited him to dinner. A famous improvisatore, ANECDOTE OF ZICHY AND THE CARDINAL. 43 Gricci, was to give a representation after dinner. Zichy took care to arrive first ; after him the Cardinal Arch- bishop of Parma. These two gentlemen did not know one another. Zichy, however, guessed by the red stockings of the Cardinal that he must be some one of importance, and ended by breaking the ice, and present- ing himself to the Cardinal, saying ' lo sono Zichy.'' The Cardinal overwhelmed him with compliments, and would have embraced him : ' Signor Gricci, ah ! Signor Gricci; che piacere, che rep'utazioiie, che talento ! Av- remmo il piacere di sentirla, d'ammirarla' Zichy, de- lighted to see that his name produced such an extra- ordinary effect, being pressed by the old Cardinal to give him a specimen of his savoir /aire just to pass the time, hesitated, talked of his small merits, his services, of the Chamber, of all he had done for twenty years without advancement ! The arrival of Marie Louise alone put an end to the scene. She herself told me the story to-day. 226. July 23. — Lhomme propose, chere amie, et Dieu dispose! This devil of a fleet is just eight days too late. A courier arrived here yesterday from Lisbon, having taken fourteen days, and he informed us that the fleet set sail on the 6th of this month. It may arrive to-morrow, the day after, or in a week or ten days, according to the wind. It is not Hkely that it will take more than three weeks coming, and in that case it will be at Leghorn from the 27th to the 29th. The embarkation of the Archduchess cannot take place for seven or eight days after it has anchored in the roads ; it must take from three to five days for re- victualling and embarking the luggage. I told you in my last, that if I had no news on the 22nd I should leave on the 25th. Now I cannot see that this will be 44 EXTRACTS FROM METTERNICH'S PRIVATE LETTERS. possible. The ceremonies would not detain me except for the sake of decency, but business will. I must see the Portuguese Commissioner, at least I can hardly help it, as he has business with me, and it will at least be very difficult, if not impossible, to avoid waiting till the moment of arrival. 227. July 26. — That blessed squadron has at last come to anchor at Leghorn. It was recognised and signalled yesterday at mid-day, at the distance of twenty miles. It entered the roads two hours and a half agfo. According to my calculations, it must take ten or twelve days to revictual. Consequently I leave to-day for the baths of Lucca, where I shall be at six this evening. I shall begin my cure to-morrow, and I shall only interrupt it during the two days which I shall spend at Leghorn, in order to complete my task. These days depend on the above-mentioned question of the revictualhng of the Portuguese fleet. 45 AT THE BATHS OF LUCCA. Extracts from the private Letters from Metternich to his Family, from July 28 to August 1817. 228. DescriptJon of Lucca. 229. Numerous guests. 230. Visit of the Archduchess to Leghorn — arrival of the English Admiral Penrose — de- scription of the Portuguese ships. 231. The ceremony of surrendering the Archduchess — farewell. 232. The Archduchess's ship sets sail — Marie Louise. 233. Metternich's departure from Lucca. Metternich to his Wife, Baths of Lucca, July 2S, 1817. 228. I am here in the most charming spot in the world. The road from Lucca to the waters passes through tlie most picturesque valley that can be con- ceived. The mountains which border it are as hi