iicjM^^ ^/ 
 
AUSTRIA. 
 
LONDON ; 
 
 PRINTED BY S. AND R. BENTLEY, DORSET STREET. 
 
AUSTRIA AS IT IS: 
 
 OR, 
 
 SKETCHES 
 
 OF 
 
 CONTINENTAL COURTS. 
 
 BY AN EYE-WITNESS. 
 
 And yet 'tis surely neither shame nor sin 
 
 To learn the world, and those that dwell therein. 
 
 Goethe. 
 
 LONDON: 
 HURST, CHANCE, AND CO. 
 ST. Paul's church yard. 
 
 1828. 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2015 
 
 https://archive.org/details/austriaasitisors01seal 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The Author of this Work is a native of the 
 Austrian Empire ; ^who, after an absence of five 
 years, has re-visited his country, and found its 
 status quo as exhibited in the following pages. 
 
 In presenting his work %o the English public, he 
 may be allowed to state, that no person can have 
 a more sincere respect for the just rights of mo- 
 narchs, as long as they are exercised within proper 
 bounds. But if a limited monarchy, where the 
 three powers, legislative, judicial, and executive, 
 are properly separated and exercised, be the most 
 conducive to social happiness, the despotism of 
 Austria, and those kingdoms and principalities 
 
vi 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 influenced by it, and by the Holy Alliance, is of 
 a nature the more shocking, inasmuch as the in- 
 tellectual progress of these countries indisputably 
 entitles them to the blessings of a liberal and 
 rational government. Never, perhaps, has there 
 been exhibited an example of so complete and 
 refined a despotism in any civilized country as 
 in Austria. 
 
 Whether this system will bear the fruits which 
 are expected, we doubt very nluch. As the Cru- 
 sades of yore, to speak with Schiller,* which were 
 originally intended to weaken still more the power 
 of the princes, and to extend that of the Pope in 
 Asia, effected just the contrary, and undermined 
 his temporal dominion ; so these Crusades against 
 human liberty and understanding will, doubtless, 
 have the same results, and undermine, what they 
 are intended to strengthen — the foundation of 
 Despotism ! 
 
 * See Prosaic Works of Schiller. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER 1. 
 
 Tour from Havre through France and Germany. — Paris^ 
 Carlsruhe, Stuttgard. — The late and present King of 
 Wurtemburgh. — Darmstadt. — Nassau. — The Elector of 
 Hesse Cassel. — Frankfort. Its inhabitants. — Leipsic. — 
 Prince Poniatowsky. — Dresden. — Prospect of Germany. 
 
 Page 1 — 22 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Napoleon at Dresden. — Battles at HoUendorf and Maria 
 Culm. — The Austrian Police. — Toplitz. — Baths — manner 
 of using them. — Dinners. — Spies. — Promenades. — King of 
 Prussia. — Prince Wittgenstein. — Parallel between the Prus- 
 sians and Austrians. — Society at Toplitz. — Surrounding- 
 Country. — Eisemberg — Excursion to Carlsbad. — Charac- 
 teristic Features of Bohemia. — State of the Peasantry — 
 their relation to the Government. — Character of the Peo- 
 ple. — Musical and romantic turn. — Religion. 
 
 Page 23—55 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Prague. — Sitting of the Diet of Bohemia. — Nobility of 
 Bohemia. — Private Theatre of Count Claru Gallas. — Musi- 
 cal Conservatorium. — Technical Institution. — Museum.' — 
 University. — The System of Education in the Austrian 
 Empire — its consequence. — Secret Police. Page 56 — 88 
 
vm 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Tour from Prague through Moravia and Austria. — The 
 Empire of Great Moravia, Austria. — Vineyards. — Villages. 
 — Inhabitants, their condition. — Church-wakes. — Austrian 
 Abbeys. — Hierarchy. — Pliability of the Clergy. — Rodolph 
 of Hapsburg and his successors. Page 89 — 108 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 View of Vienna. — Suburbs. — Glacis. — Imperial Castle. — 
 Imperial Apartments. — Guards. — The Emperor. 
 
 Page 109—143 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The Austrian Chancellor of State, Prince Metternich. 
 
 Page 144—159 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Austrian Aristocracy — Viennese High-life. 
 
 Page 160—188 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Public Officers. — Lower Classes,^ — The City of Vienna 
 considered in an architectural point of view. — Public Wor- 
 ship.— Bias of the Viennese. — Public Institutions. — Aus- 
 trian Codex. — Medical Science. — Character of its Literati. 
 Public Journals. — Grillpatzer. — Austrian Censorship. — 
 Theatres. — Conclusive Remarks. Page 189 — 215 
 
AUSTRIA. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Tour from Havre through France and Germany. — Paris^ 
 Carlsruhe, Stuttgard. — The late and present King of 
 Wurtemburgh.— -Darmstadt. — Nassau. — The Elector of 
 Hesse Cassel.— Frankfort Its inhabitants. — Leipsic. — 
 Prince Poniatowsky. — Dresden. — Prospect of Germany. 
 
 Havre is not the place to dwell long in or 
 upon. Its port is small, its entrance narrow, and 
 in the least gale even dangerous. Its custom-house 
 and police regulations, however, still show that 
 its trade is flourishing, and not a day passes but 
 some snug Yankee vessel or a heavy built French 
 brig enters with the tide. 
 
 This town, so old in appearance, was thirty 
 years ago a poor village inhabited by French fisher- 
 
 B 
 
2 
 
 HAVRE TO ROUEN. 
 
 men, when the discerning eye of Napoleon fixed 
 upon it as a port for that very city, the aggran- 
 dizement of which he should least of all have en- 
 couraged. Its custom-houses, police-offices, cot- 
 ton-bales, and sugar-hogsheads are not very inte- 
 resting objects for a non-merchant. The third 
 day saw me again in Rouen, to which place we as- 
 cended in the steam-boat Havre. 
 
 The martial fierceness of the French has, since 
 the fourteen years I last saw their country and 
 capital, assumed a pious turn. At whatever hotel 
 we stopped, we were sure to find prayer-books 
 and catechisms on the tables and commodes ; and 
 in Rouen we saw a large procession just entering 
 the Gothic cathedral, joined by several dozen offi- 
 cers, who, to our no small astonishment, hastened 
 to this devout service with the same ardour as they 
 did fourteen years ago to a military review.— »S'2c 
 tempora mutantur, thought I, while my Yankee 
 companion, whom I had offered a seat in my cabri- 
 olet, exclaimed against the pious Norman princes, 
 who, instead of cutting canals, or making rail-roads, 
 raised such huge, uncomfortable piles as the church 
 at Rouen, good for nothing except catching cold : 
 he would not exchange his meeting-house for them 
 
PARIS. 
 
 S 
 
 all; meaning a wooden frame building in Bucks 
 County, Pennsylvania. 
 
 ^ We found in Paris an old king, more beloved 
 
 tVVtX l^/ however than his predecessor, notwithstanding his 
 being surrounded with pious personages, and those 
 sprigs of the ancient nobility in whom a Revolution 
 and twenty-five years'* exile could not produce the 
 least change in their former prejudices, and their 
 notions of a golden sitcle — the true pictures of a 
 run down repeater, which if made to strike a hun- 
 dred times will always repeat the same strokes. Of 
 course I visited the Museum, the Tuileries, the 
 Palais Royal, &c. with a sort of cicerone, whose 
 truly French pride brought honest Caleb, the 
 worthy factotum of Ravens wood, to my mind. 
 He commented on all the vacancies, never failing 
 to throw the cloak of pride on the spoliations of 
 the barbarians, as he called them: Voila les harba- 
 res^ Its Prussiens, qui ont remportes les chevaux ! — 
 Voila les betes des Autrichietis ! &c. I cono^ratu- 
 late this nation on the good temper, or, as they 
 term it, grace, with which they bear not only their 
 vicissitudes, but suit themselves so exactly to the 
 new modes with that light heart and frivolous mind, 
 which made them under Robespierre, executioners, 
 
4 
 
 PARIS. 
 
 under Napoleon plundering heroes, and under 
 Charles the Tenth pious priests. But to be 
 serious ; they have every reason to wish themselves 
 joy. They have earned, while John Bull and poor 
 Germany only laboured. They have amassed a 
 fine property from the spoils of other nations, and 
 though they had to give back part of their ill- 
 gotten fortune, their trade is flourishing ; they 
 have done away with their feudal encumbrances ; 
 and what is the chief point, they have tauglit 
 their princes a lesson, which will secure, for a 
 while, their rights better than a dozen charters. 
 United, as they now are into one nation, they are 
 through this union formidable ; an advantage of 
 which their neighbours, the Germans, are in want. 
 
 There is hardly any object from Paris to Stras- 
 burg worth mentioning. Paris is almost the only 
 town which attracts and deserves interest ; the 
 rest seem to exist only for Paris. The towns of 
 France are generally worse than those of other 
 countries, the villages still more so, and, except an 
 ancient castle here and there, it is the most mono- 
 tonous country imaginable. 
 
 There is, in the German character, a sort of 
 
GERMANY. 
 
 5 
 
 familiarity which sometimes displeases, but shows 
 at the bottom an open heart, even where there is 
 no need of it. This, with a sincere though in a 
 certain degree shaken attachment to their princes, 
 constitutes one of the principal features of the 
 present Germans. How could they else bear those 
 incredible burthens laid upon their shoulders, and 
 which so grievously oppress them ? 
 
 We entered Germany on the middle of the 
 bridge, leading from Strasburg to Baden, a fine 
 country, with a fine race of men and women, a 
 regular capital, and a handsome palace and park. 
 It also boasts a constitution, or, as it is termed, an 
 assembly of states, granted by the grace of Prince 
 Metternich. The representatives are allowed to 
 debate how to raise the expenses for the cur- 
 rent year, among which is a civil list of 150,000/. 
 and 10,000 soldiers. For these benefits the good 
 people have taxes, which to pay they live on pota- 
 toes, and a sort of rye bread, whose colour resem- 
 bles exactly that of the worn-out hats we see on 
 their heads ; moreover, they are blessed with 
 tolls and duties, which notwithstanding the Rhine 
 washes their borders, make trade of any extent a 
 real impossibility. 
 
6 
 
 WURTEMBURGK. 
 
 We arrived the same day in another sovereign's 
 dominions, those of the King of Wurtemburgh. 
 The palace in his capital, Stuttgard, is without 
 any doubt the finest royal residence in Germany, 
 and superior to the Tuileries in point of symmetric 
 and architectural beauty. The crown, however, 
 with which it is surmounted, and which is not 
 quite as large as the cupola of St. Paul's Church, 
 seems, indeed, a satire on the royal dignity? which 
 in this insignificant miniature kingdom is over- 
 acted. 
 
 If wealth be dangerous in subjects, this king- 
 has nothing to apprehend. His subjects, whom 
 we know under the appellation of Swabians, are 
 certainly the poorest creatures in the world, and, 
 except one wealthy bookseller, there is not a rich 
 man in the kingdom. The present king has added 
 to his other benefits a Diet, modified by the same 
 princely personage, Metternich, for which his sub- 
 jects are little indebted to him. He has but aug- 
 mented their burthens without conferring any real 
 benefit. The two chambers of which the assem- 
 bly is composed, have not the least legislative 
 power ; and their whole labour is to devise the 
 best means of getting out of the empty pockets 
 
WURTEMBURGH. 
 
 7 
 
 of the wretched subjects the taxes which the mi- 
 nister of the treasury imposes on the country. 
 Among the expenses are the civil list, with 150,000/, 
 and 12,000 soldiers. 
 
 A cold shudder seizes me when I think on 
 his late Majesty, commonly called the Fat King. 
 He was a great huntsman. In the year 1817, 
 during the dreadful famine, one of his deer and 
 boar chases was held. Among the 4000 peasants 
 who were summoned from the Odenwald to attend 
 as drivers, there was a poor sick man who could 
 not leave his bed. His only support was his 
 daughter, who, from the earnings of her spinning, 
 supported the miserable existence of her father. 
 She dressed herself in her father's clothes, and 
 went to attend the royal chase. It lasted three 
 days, during which time these people were seen 
 bivouacking in snow and cold. The king heard of 
 this disguise, laughed immoderately, and was very 
 sorry not to have known it sooner, as it would 
 have been an excellent joke. When the maid re- 
 turned to her father'*s house, she found him starved. 
 The king heard of this, but did nothing. During 
 the same royal sport, a boar approached a peasant, 
 when a chamberlain was just going to dart his 
 
8 
 
 WURTEMBURGH. 
 
 javelin at the ferocious animal. The peasant, to 
 defend himself, used his cudgel, and prostrated 
 the beast. The disappointed courtier now turn- 
 ed his javelin a^gainst the peasant, and laid him 
 with a blow dead at his feet. As he was a favou- 
 rite with the king, he came off with a fortnight'*s 
 confinement. 
 
 Though the present king is rather a better sort 
 of man, yet he is but little beloved. His travels 
 through France, Italy, and Switzerland, at the ex- 
 pense of his starving subjects, and his vacillating 
 policy, have changed the odium which they bore 
 to the former into an indifPerence towards his 
 successor. The beautiful royal studs of Arabian 
 horses, six miles from Stuttgard, and the cele- 
 brated Danncker's attelier at Connstadt, are well 
 worth a visit. In the latter, however, we find 
 nothing except Schiller's bust, at all worth men- 
 tioning. A tour through this kingdom is of 
 very little interest. Miserable towns, with dung- 
 / hills and mud-holes in the streets, houses, or rather 
 cabins, falling to pieces, still poorer villages, with 
 huts, out of whose square-foot windows wretch- 
 ed and fretful faces are peeping ; — these are the 
 features which accompany the traveller from Stutt- 
 
» DARMSTADT. 9 
 
 gard to Heidelberg. Here the country assumes 
 a romantic aspect, rather more friendly and pro- 
 sperous, owing to the exceeding fertility of the 
 soil, and the Jew students who spend their 
 money in the latter place. The united efforts 
 of the German Diet at Frankfort, and of the 
 Committee of Censors at Mentz, have tamed 
 these gentlemen in a way more galling to their 
 feelings than even Napoleon's Despotism. Half 
 a day's ride brought us to Darmstadt, the capital 
 of the third sovereign's dominions. Among the 
 curiosities we found a splendid theatre, an assem- 
 bly of States, in the same form as that of Wur- 
 temburgh, 10,000 soldiers, who, in the true spirit 
 of Hessians, complain loudly of John BulPs being 
 on friendly terms with Brother Jonathan, and of 
 being thus deprived of every chance of having 
 their legs or arms shot off, in order to get half- 
 pay. Another half day's ride brought us to 
 Frankfort, the seat of the German Diet. A good 
 charger may carry his rider in an hour through 
 three sovereigns' dominions, viz : — the Elector of 
 Hesse Cassel, the Duke of Nassau, and the 
 Prince Landgrave of Hesse Homburg. A few 
 traits, which we can state as authentic, are suffi- 
 cient to give us such characteristic outlines of 
 
10 
 
 NASSAU. 
 
 these princes, as may enable us to form a com- 
 petent opinion of them, and the respective hap- 
 piness enjoyed by their subjects. 
 
 The Duke of Nassau thought proper, in the 
 true spirit of liberality, to grant to his people a 
 constitution. In acknowledgment for this benefit, 
 the loyal representatives presented him with the 
 domains of the dukedom, the national property. 
 He accepted of the gift, passed over to Vienna, 
 and gambled them away in the course of three 
 successive nights. The poor people lost their 
 only resort for paying their taxes, and have now 
 to pay their representatives who voted their pro- 
 perty away, and 6000 soldiers, besides a civil list 
 of 100,000/. to the princely family, from a coun- 
 try not much larger than London. His neigh- 
 bour, the Elector of Hesse Cassel, is said to 
 be the richest, but the most despotic, among the 
 petty sovereigns of Germany : and his country is 
 a proof it. He is indebted for his wealth i to his 
 grandfather and his father, two worthy men^ than 
 whom none of the German princes better under- 
 stood the rights of sovereignty. The former 
 proved it by selling his loyal subjects, the latter 
 by exercising that privilege which the German 
 
HESSE CASSEL. 11 
 
 princes and nobles enjoyed of yore. He left, it 
 is said^ not less than seventy-four children. 
 
 As he owed his wealth principally to his grand- 
 father's soldiers, he paid them a proportionate 
 attention. As soon, therefore, as he was return- 
 ed to the Electorate, they had to resume their 
 queues, as worn in the time of Frederick the Great. 
 As no means could be devised in the ministerial 
 council to fix them upon their heads, and the 
 growth of their hair would have taken too long a 
 time for his Highness's patience, they were fas- 
 tened on their collets, to the no small amuse- 
 ment of the knowing students of Gottingen, 
 who instantly provided themselves with this new 
 head-piece, stalking with their pig-tails all over 
 the country. It happened frequently that some 
 of the old soldiers, who followed the late elec- 
 tor into his exile, had still preserved their queues, 
 and were bound to add another, thus carrying- 
 two of these ornaments instead of one. 
 
 ] . . 
 
 I There is nothing more disgusting than these 
 petty sovereigns, who, by the grace of bowing 
 and cringing to Napoleon, became independent; 
 a prerogative, of which they make such use as 
 
12 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 might be expected from minds narrow as their ter- 
 ritories. They now carry on a sort of petty war- 
 fare with their tolls and duties, in that modern style 
 which ruins a people, not at once, but by degrees. 
 They thus contrived to make of each territory 
 a little Japan, where nothing except home growth 
 and home produce is allowed. This combina- 
 tion against free trade and commerce, and in fact 
 against the only means of subsistence for the 
 subjects of petty states, which have no sea-coast, 
 no produce of a superior kind, no resources, and 
 a civil list of nearly three millions sterling, with 
 an army of more than 100,000 men, was begun 
 by the King of Prussia; and as every duke, or 
 prince, or landgrave, would think it derogatory 
 to his dignity to yield to the King of Prussia, 
 in any point, they used reprisals. During my 
 stay at Frankfort, I had to pay for my excur- 
 sion from this city into the surrounding country, 
 a distance of three miles, not only three dif- 
 ferent tolls, but for my coachman, who carried 
 about half-a-bushel of oats with him, a duty 
 double the value of the oats. Owing to the 
 same cause, a bottle of Rhenish wine is, thirty 
 miles from its growth, quite as dear as in Great 
 Britain. What an influence such a system must 
 
GERMANY. 
 
 13 
 
 necessarily produce on the brave and generous 
 Germans, I need not observe. Poverty, smug- 
 gling, with all the train of vices incident to such 
 a policy, are the evils resulting from it. In 
 Germany it is not the mechanic nor the manu- 
 facturer, as in Great Britain or France, who is 
 subject to periodical distress; it is the farmer, 
 the proprietor of his estate ; it is the very heart- 
 blood of the country, which is exhausted beyond 
 any idea. There is, generally speaking, an ab- 
 solute poverty — -none are wealthy but the thirty- \ 
 six sovereigns of this country. One may see hun- i 
 dreds of people, and some of the most honest and 
 industrious farmers, selling their small property, 
 which even in France would support them in a 
 decent way, and wandering to the borders of Hol- 
 land to seek a foreign country; but even this 
 sad hope is denied to them. Generally, when they 
 arrive at the sea-ports, their last penny is spent ; 
 they are refused a passage on board as redemp- 
 tionaries ; and they either starve, or return abso- 
 lute beggars. 
 
 It is truly wonderful how the princes of Ger- 
 many could have allowed hberty a little nook in 
 Frankfort, the very heart of the country, and 
 
14 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 where the effects of this freedom are so strangely 
 contrasted with the surrounding poverty. We may 
 account, however, for this phenomenon, by a suf- 
 ficient knowledge of the character of their subjects. 
 A newly-discovered Minnelied*, such as the Ni- 
 belungen, (^) will make them forget constitution, 
 liberty, and misery ; and though they can exactly 
 tell w^hat sort of government China, Japan, and 
 Siam have, and give an exact account of the 
 mismanagement in these empires, yet it never 
 occurred to them that their own is the very 
 worst of all. 
 
 Frankfort is an ancient and noble city, where 
 a proportionate wealth is diffused through all 
 the classes of society, though their liberty is rather 
 galled by the overweening airs of the Austrian 
 and Prussian sinecure ambassadors. (^) It is the 
 only city in the south of Germany which, be- 
 sides Vienna, may be said to be rich ; and though 
 the greatest part of these riches is in the hands 
 of half-a-dozen Jews, yet they share the spoils, 
 which flow into the gulph of Hebrew subtihty, 
 from the sweat of the brows of the Austrian, 
 Prussian, and Russian slaves. It is a pity that 
 
 LoA^e lays. 
 
FRANKFORT. 
 
 15 
 
 the high character of the Germans and their 
 virtues are so little known, and still less esteemed. 
 There is an intenseness of feeling in the German 
 character, which touches the very heart. (^) 
 
 To an incredible extent of knowledge and 
 enhghtened learning they unite an unostenta- 
 tious simplicity and unassuming manners, which 
 bespeak the sterling cast of their minds. 
 What would this nation become, were they al- i 
 lowed only a small degree of civil liberty? A 
 social circle of the better class in Frankfort has 
 a particular charm. Out of fifteen young ladies 
 and as many gentlemen, who meet in a com- 
 pany, there will scarcely be five who are not 
 versed in English literature ; and Walter Scott, 
 Moore, and Cowper, are their favourites. The 
 salutations and unshawlings are scarcely over, 
 when the knitting-work is resorted to ; while 
 one or two are playing on the piano-forte, or 
 reading a favourite novel of the above-mention- 
 ed authors. They are interrupted by the tea- 
 party, after which they hasten to the Cecilia 
 Union, an institution highly honourable to the 
 youth of Frankfort. About fifty young ladies 
 of the best families, with as many gentlemen, 
 assemble regularly twice every week, to perform 
 
16 
 
 FRANKFORT. 
 
 Handel's, Haydn's, Grauns's, &c. classical works, 
 under the direction of a musical gentleman of 
 high standing. The salary of this directorj 
 (Shelble,) the expenses of the locale and of the 
 orchestra, are defrayed by subscription of the 
 members. Only sacred music is here admitted. 
 I heard the Messiah and Haydn's Creation per- 
 formed, and I do not hesitate to affirm, that 
 although the London performance is more splen- 
 did as relates to the orchestra, yet the general 
 impression produced by these hundred youthful 
 and blooming singers, is far superior to any thing 
 I ever heard. 
 
 The tower where the emperors of Germany 
 were crowned is interesting, if it were but to con- 
 vey an adequate idea of the ancient notions of 
 magnificence. The hall where the coronation took 
 place is an oblong chamber, or rather a chapel, 
 such as we find in moderate country mansions 
 of Great Britain. The worn-out likenesses of 
 the emperors, the more ancient of whom have 
 visibly been renovated at various times, and 
 the scene of desolation which reigns throughout, 
 are true representations of the present state of the 
 holy Roman Empire. 
 
FRANKFORT. IT 
 
 The country between Frankfort and Leipsic, 
 if we except the Fichtel mountains and a dozen 
 small residences of Saxon princes, is of little 
 interest. We visited at Leipsic the spot where 
 the gallant Poniatowsky fell, the hope and the 
 idol of his countrymen. Fanciful and enthu- 
 siastic as they are, it was no wonder they 
 once clung with fondness to the hope of seeing 
 him seated on the throne of the Sobieskys and 
 Casimirs. (^) A very curious circumstance re- 
 specting the fate of this interesting prince, and one 
 authenticated by several of his friends, is the fol- 
 lowing. He was, about six years before his death, 
 on a visit to a relation of his in Silesia, with a 
 numerous party. They were assembled in the 
 pavilion of the country seat, when a plaintive 
 but melodious voice was heard before the gate. 
 It came froQi a gipsey, who was called in to pro- 
 phecy the fate of each person. The first who 
 stepped forth was Prince Poniatowsky. The gip- 
 sey took his hand, looked attentively at it, then 
 at him, and muttered in a low voice, ^' Prince, an 
 Elster will bring you death.'"' As Elster in the 
 German language denotes both the river Elster 
 and a magpie, the company made merry, wTote 
 
 c 
 
18 
 
 SAXONY. 
 
 the prophecy down, witnessed and sealed it. It 
 is still extant. 
 
 The prosperity of Saxony, notwithstanding the 
 ravages of a war which led a million of soldiers, at 
 different times, into the heart of the country, and 
 the subsequent division or rather laceration of this 
 little kingdom, seems but little affected. The 
 healing hand of a paternal government is every- 
 where visible. Whatever may be the fault of the 
 king, whose plain honesty and ill-timed faith led 
 him to persevere in an alliance when his royal and 
 princely brethren and cousins were already playing 
 false, he has severely suffered; but even in his suf- 
 ferings this venerable patriarch of kings is an in- 
 stance of what common sense, with true honesty, 
 may perform in so short a time. His simple me- 
 thod was that which every wise father of a family, 
 whose speculation proved fatal, resorts to, — re- 
 trenchment of his expenses, and a strict honesty in 
 fulfiUing his obligations. This honesty has effected 
 what no other aggrandized monarch can boast of, — 
 a firm public credit, prosperity, a trade but little 
 diminished, security, and an unbounded love of 
 his subjects. The inhabitantKS of Dresden, and of 
 
DRESDEN. 
 
 19 
 
 Saxony in general, are renowned for their good 
 manners, cultivated taste, and frugality. A dozen 
 well-dressed gentlemen will sit down in the first 
 hotels to dinner, which consists of a wing of 
 a fowl and two thin slices of bread and butter — 
 a very moderate lunch for an Englishman. This 
 frugality may originate in a comparatively poor 
 soil, which yields its tribute not without hard 
 labour ; but it is certainly a high eulogium on 
 their princes, that they have opened to their sub- 
 jects sources of mental perfection in those well- 
 known treasures of the gallery, which justly give 
 Dresden the appellation of the Florence of Ger- 
 many. Compared to this gallery, the treasures 
 of the gi-and ceiling are mere trifles. You stand 
 hours and days before the Madonna without being 
 satiated, and always return from your rambles 
 into the adjoining rooms to this ne plus ultra of 
 genial art. 
 
 Dresden has no splendid edifices ; even the Ca- 
 tholic church, the palace of the King and that of 
 Count Marcolini, are not imposing ; but the whole 
 city presents so beautiful an ensemble ; — its situa- 
 tion, without being romantic, is so calm ; the bridge, 
 c 2 
 
20 
 
 DRESDEN. 
 
 built in a chaste and noble style, and with such 
 perfect propriety, spans both towns, — that the im- 
 pression which it leaves behind is certainly a most 
 pleasing one. If we add to this the absolute gen- 
 tleness of their literary character, some of whom 
 are of a distinguished standing, as Bottiger and 
 Nostiz, one is indeed sorr}^ to leave a city where 
 so much taste and refinement are blended with the 
 most unassuming manners. 
 
 Will Germany, after having had its Miillers, 
 Fichtes, Herders, Schillers, Goethes, &c. follow the 
 course of human nature, and establish a national 
 liberty, such as is the inseparable companion of a 
 free will, the result of an enlightened understand- 
 ing ? Will it follow the example of England, which 
 resumed its natural rights when its Shakspeares, 
 Addisons, and Miltons, had diffused light through 
 the ranks of their countrymen ; or the example 
 of France, after its Corneilles, Racines, Montes- 
 quieus, and Rousseaus, had done away with the 
 prejudices of a feudal and barbarian age.^ 
 
 Divided as Germany is into petty districts, 
 separated from each other by jealousies, man- 
 
THE GERMAN STATES. 
 
 21 
 
 ners, and many antiquated prejudices, but, 
 above all, governed by princes who, devoid of 
 every national character, are the tools of 
 Austria and Prussia, as they formerly were of 
 Bonaparte ; by the united efforts of these powers 
 and princes, and tlie " reign of darkness^'' the 
 Germans will gradually sink into that state of 
 slavery fit to become subjects for Russia, when 
 this power shall have subdued Austria and Tur- 
 key, and have annexed to its empire Bohemia, 
 Moravia, the rest of Poland, and Hungary. The 
 genius of culture draws towards the West. It 
 rose in the beautiful plains of Euphrates, Tigris, 
 Araxes, and Ganges. They are now a desert. It 
 moved towards the borders of the Mediterra- 
 nean, and Lydia and Ephesus shone forth. Their 
 glory is gone too, to make place for the bright 
 star of beautiful Greece, whose splendour sunk 
 with the walls of Corinth, and imperial Rome 
 took the command of the world. She is now 
 only extant in the records of history, and Eu- 
 rope's hope rests on the proud rock of Albion. 
 But the tide runs towards America, and, per- 
 haps, before two centuries shall have elapsed, the 
 Genius of Europe, to avoid Scythian fetters, will 
 
22 
 
 ENGLAND. 
 
 have alighted on the banks of the mighty Mis- 
 sissippi. 
 
 May the Genius of Europe never fly from this 
 noble, proud, and happy Island ! may it for ever 
 be what it has shown itself — the Bulwark of 
 Liberty ! 
 
NAPOLEON AT DRESDEN. 
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 
 Napoleon at Dresden. — Battles at Hollendorf and Maria 
 Culm. — The Austrian Police. — Toplitz. — Baths — man- 
 ner of using them. — Dinners. — Spies. — Promenades. — 
 King of Prussia. — Prince Wittgenstein — Parallel between 
 the Prussians and Austrians. — Society at Toplitz. — Sur- 
 rounding Country. — Eisemberg. — Excursion to Carlsbad. 
 — Characteristic Features of Bohemia. — State of the Pea. 
 santry — their relation to the Government. — Character 
 of the People. — Musical and romantic turn Religion. 
 
 We set out from Dresden on our way towards 
 the Bohemian frontier, on the same road which 
 y^^'^tijCsaw, fourteen year ago, the Austrian, Russian, 
 and Prussian eagles flying from the great Corsican. 
 It was the last great scene of his victorious life. 
 Two days of uninterrupted attacks, during a flood 
 of rains, had left him victorious on the field of 
 battle ; and when he returned to the city, tired 
 and worn out, the flaps of his three-cornered 
 
24 
 
 NAPOLEON AT DRESDEN. 
 
 hat bending downwards, the water running in 
 streams out of his boots and clothes, the inhabit- 
 ants of Dresden, struck with the greatness of his 
 exertions, broke out into shouts of " Vive VEmpe- 
 rear r which touched the conqueror to the very 
 heart. With a tear in his eye, a thing seldom 
 to be seen, he remarked to Berthier, " Voild des 
 acclamations qui sont sinch es and instantly 
 turning aside and letting the 7000 Austrian pri- 
 soners, taken in this battle, pass by, his features 
 darkened, and a gloom spread over his face which 
 never left him afterwards : it was the gloom of 
 rage and revenge. He then perceived that the 
 alliance formed at Prague was of another sort; and 
 that his enemies were determined to destroy him. 
 His character solves the question why he rejected 
 a peace offered him under very favourable terms. 
 It was rage, the desire of vengeance, of humbling, 
 and perhaps finally exterminating, that very 
 sovereign whom he despised, and who had now 
 outwitted him. A mind like his, powerful and 
 stern, grown up under military discipline, not 
 smoothed nor softened in the refined circles of 
 high life ; accustomed to command, but not to 
 yield with grace, could not brook to seek peace 
 from those whom he formerly had in his power. 
 
A CUSTOM-OFFICER. 
 
 25 
 
 He felt only the enormous treachery of Austria ; 
 and as an enraged fencer, who though possessed 
 of a superior force is met by a less able but 
 cool-blooded antagonist, will lay open his side, he 
 rushed on with that impetuosity which laid the 
 first foundation of his ruin. The first battle after 
 that of Dresden plainly confirmed this. His whole 
 rancour fell on Austria : and, to satisfy his thirst 
 of vengeance, he sent into the intricate defiles of 
 Bohemia an army under his most cruel but least 
 expert general, the well-known Vandamme. 
 
 We passed over the same road from Peters- 
 wold to Hollendorf. A " Halt !" interrupted my 
 conversation with my companion, and reminded us 
 where we were. A black and yellow-painted beam, 
 which crossed the whole road, was in the act of being 
 lowered so as to preclude our passage. A custom- 
 officer, with a Serjeant and two soldiers, stepped 
 out of a door surmounted with the double eagle. 
 My friend had thought proper to place my books 
 and writings under his immediate protection ; 
 but this precaution was almost superfluous. The 
 custom-officer, with many bows to my compa- 
 nion, asked only who the other gentleman was. 
 Being satisfied upon this point, cap in hand, 
 
26 
 
 HOLLENDORF. 
 
 he inquired after foreign books, and was going 
 to open my trunks ; when my companion signified, 
 with a sneer, at the same time indifferent and 
 haughty, " We will deKver the gentleman's pass- 
 port ourselves. He is my friend, and you may 
 
 send down to E for a haunch of venison 
 
 and a barrel of beer." The officer expressed his 
 satisfaction by respectfully kissing the hand of 
 my gracious C — , the soldiers by a grim smile ; 
 and we rolled down the defiles of Hollendorf, 
 famous for the resistance which 3000 Prussians 
 under their general, Kleist, surnamed Count de 
 Hollendorf, offered here to the pursuing Van- 
 damme, till a sufficient force was collected in the 
 rear. The road descends into a deep ravine, 
 surrounded on three sides with huge mountains, 
 whose forest-clad cliffs witnessed fourteen years 
 ago the bloody and desperate contest, known un- 
 der the name of the battle of Maria Culm. The 
 valley opens here towards the South. The prin- 
 cipal conflict Was on an eminence, defended by the 
 Russian guards under Ostermann. The Prus- 
 sians were on the right, the Austrians on the left 
 side. The French fought with an assurance not 
 yet dismayed by disasters, the Allies with despair. 
 
TOPLITZ. 
 
 27 
 
 The battle was decided in favour of the latter, 
 by the arrival of the Austrian general, Collo- 
 redo, and 9000 Frenchmen surrendered ; 4000 
 escaped ; the rest of the army, 40,000 strong, 
 were killed, wounded, or dispersed. Two monu- 
 ments, the one erected by the King of Prussia to 
 the memory of the fallen Prussians, the other by 
 the Bohemian nobility to their countryman, Count 
 Coloredo Mannsfield, who died in 1824, comme- 
 morate the names of the leaders. 
 
 St. Maria Culm is the first nobleman's seat 
 which, on entering from this side, offers itself to 
 our view, — an elegant mansion in modern style, 
 surrounded with parks, gardens, and a number 
 of dwellings for the household officers, at a short 
 distance from the borough of St. Maria Culm. 
 The noble proprietor is a Count Thun. We 
 thence rode in one hour and a half to Toplitz, 
 the celebrated Temple of Hygseia for all those 
 numerous disorders produced by a too free in- 
 dulgence in the gifts of Ceres, Bacchus, and 
 Venus. 
 
 The town is just built in that accommodating 
 
28 
 
 JOHK EULL ABROAD. 
 
 style^ which leaves it entirely at your choice 
 whether you will spend with the King of Prussia 
 £5 a day, or one shilling. Your appearance 
 and resources are the standard of the behaviour of 
 the dreaded police, when you have to send or to 
 deliver your passports. 
 
 A foreigner who comes to Austria from a dis- 
 tant country, and bears the truth of his statement 
 in his appearance and resources, will have less 
 reason to complain of the police than in France 
 or Prussia. Its dead weight lies chiefly on the 
 people. The higher classes, even among foreign- 
 ers, are allowed more liberty, and, if they are not 
 stigmatized as revolutiotiaircs, they are here more 
 at their ease than any where else : certainly much 
 more than in Prussia. There are, however, two 
 things which I advise John Bull not to overlook. 
 When an absentee from his country, he is inclined 
 to adopt the saving principle : now, for my part, 
 I have not the least objection to his retrieving his 
 circumstances by a voluntary exile ; but then it 
 becomes him, even for his own good, not to show 
 contempt or disrespect towards that nation, be 
 it what it may, where he is going to retrieve his 
 fortune ; the more so, as this very principle of 
 
BATHS OF TOPLITZ. 
 
 29 
 
 saving in a foreign country, in order to be ena- 
 bled to spend more at home, is in itself an affront 
 to the country he visits. A second thing is to 
 guard his tongue. Freedom is a diamond which 
 sparkles in England, and ought to be the more 
 prized for its rarity. Show your diamond to 
 robbers or paupers, and they will either rob you, 
 or despise the possession of what they cannot duly 
 appreciate :-~ show your freedom to slaves and 
 their task-masters, and you may incur still more 
 serious consequences. 
 
 The town of Toplitz is very elegant : the houses, 
 which are numerous, are clean and solid ; some are 
 very handsome : the palace of the Prince Clary, 
 the proprietor of Toplitz, though not of superior 
 architecture, has an imposing effect. Besides 
 several private bathing-places, there are the town 
 baths, those of Prince Clary and of the King 
 of Prussia. They are either of marble or of a 
 white stone, and kept very clean. The water, 
 before it is used, is exposed for ten hours to the 
 open air, in order to cool ; but, notwithstanding 
 this, the heat is so great that, on entering the 
 bath, you are scarcely able to support it. For the 
 indigent, two large reservoirs are appropriated, 
 
30 BATHS OF TOPLITZ. 
 
 where males and females bathe separately. They 
 receive besides, every day, a small sum of money 
 towards their support. The efficaciousness of these 
 baths is admitted to be superior to those of Aix- 
 la-Chapelle and Wisbadra : the regulations are 
 conducted with a propriety nowhere else to be 
 met with. The use of a bath is generally fol- 
 lowed by a siesta of an hour ; after which break- 
 fast, and then a short walk is taken. At three 
 o'clock dinner is served, in the great garden 
 saloon. One of your neighbours is perhaps a 
 Bohemian nobleman, the other a Russian, the 
 third a Pole. From their safeguards, posted with 
 a serviette and a plate behind their chairs, and 
 from their hangers, broad silver or gold epa- 
 lettes, you might mistake them for Prussian or 
 Russian generals, if their obsequious smile did 
 not declare the contrary. The company there 
 consists entirely of nobility ; and you know at 
 once where you are, and feel at home without 
 those embarrassments which fall so often to your 
 lot in a German refreshing-place, where, on the 
 right side, you have a prince perhaps with 
 500/. a-year; on your left, a Prussian ensign, 
 which makes you return the cordiality of the 
 former with a cold silence, and the sabreure ar- 
 
BATHS OF TOPLITZ. 31 
 
 rogance of the latter, with an obsequious smile. 
 A concert, such as you hear only in Bohemia, 
 not numerous in performers, but harmonious, with 
 its fine concords, for which this nation is so cele- 
 brated, thrills through your very soul, and makes 
 you forget deer haunches, bear hams, and Bohe- 
 mian pheasants, — articles which even Napoleon ac- 
 knowledged so superior, that annually 500 braces 
 of them made the tour to Paris. A profusion of 
 Rhenish, Champagne, and, above all, of Hungarian 
 wine, covers the table ; for we must do justice 
 to the liberality of the Austrian Government, 
 which, if it circumscribes your spiritual, pays 
 the more attention to your physical concerns, and 
 allows you what no other Government would do, 
 to import as much foreign wine as is thought 
 sufficient for your wants. The conversation dur- 
 ing dinner turns on any thing but politics. The 
 Russian will talk about the last Hungarian vin- 
 tage ; the fat Austrian general about the flavour 
 of the pheasant ; and the Pole speaks to none 
 but his fair countrywomen, who occupy the 
 head of the table. One of these persons, how- 
 ever, deserves your attention. He has a smil- 
 ing face, speaks fluently French, Enghsh, and 
 German, — a sort of weathercock, of whose cha- 
 
 I 
 
S2 
 
 BATHS OF TOPLITZ. 
 
 racter you are quite uncertain ; but if you are 
 a new-comer you may be sure of having him 
 vis-a-vis at the table. While the Russian count 
 treats him with a great deal of civility, the 
 Pole darts furious looks at him ; the Austrian 
 general looks up to him with a sort of humihty, 
 and his aid-de-camp, the young, rich Count 
 
 N 5 treats him decidedly en bagatelle ; but 
 
 this personage is quite unconcerned. He is a close 
 observer ; and, if you are a stranger, you may be 
 sure of being attentively watched. He is the 
 
 counsellor of the Bohemian Government, B 
 
 C , the Imperial spy, who at the expense of 
 
 his Majesty spends the season here, and lives 
 in very high style, known to every body in the 
 company, on familiar terms with all, and terrible 
 to none except to the unwary. You will find 
 this personage every where, even in the private 
 circles of the nobility ; for, in order to show their 
 loyalty, and how hand and glove'' they are with 
 the Imperial interest, they think it necessary to 
 
 have the good opinion of B C — — , or of his 
 
 colleagues in other bathing-places. 
 
 After dinner, at five o'clock, you are invited to 
 take a tour to one of the surrounding villages 
 
THE KING OF PRUSSIA. 
 
 S3 
 
 if the weather is fine, if not, to the park of 
 Prince Clary. Two large basins, with half-a- 
 dozen swans ; clumps of the finest limes and all 
 sorts of forest-trees, with underwood, exhibit the 
 pure English taste of the noble proprietor. There 
 you meet every day, and braving every weather, 
 two persons : the first a lank, tall figure, without 
 proportion, striding with paces two yards long ; 
 a face sullen and gloomy his companion, a thin- 
 legged little man, bespattered from head to foot 
 with mud, and kept in a constant career by his 
 mighty foreman. It is the King of Prussia, who 
 never fails to take, after or during rain, these 
 pedestrian exercises, to the no small discomfort 
 of his little attendant, the grand chamberlain 
 Prince Wittgenstein, who follows, or rather runs 
 after his royal master, breathless, through thick 
 and thin. During this excursion not a single word 
 is spoken. The sovereign probably meditates on 
 some great improvement in the appearance of his 
 soldiers. It is not two weeks since he sent an express 
 from here to Berlin, with orders to change the black 
 sword-knots of his soldiers into white. The speed 
 of the courier excited considerable alarm not only 
 here, but in Vienna; but in eight days the im- 
 portant secret was manifest. These improvements 
 J) 
 
34 
 
 THE KING OF PRUSSIA. 
 
 and the Choco in Paris, are said to be his prin- 
 cipal pleasures. About four weeks ago, and pre- 
 vious to his departure from Berlin, an occurrence 
 took place which alarmed his Majesty not a 
 little. He was walking in the park, at some dis- 
 tance from the Royal Palace. A man, with his 
 right hand in his bosom, approached him ; the 
 King, terrorstruck, and thinking on Sandt, 
 turned and retreated with hasty strides towards 
 the palace, the man following him. The King 
 arrives, running and breathless, at the entrance of 
 his residence, where he gives an order to arrest 
 and examine the pursuer : trembling he retires to 
 his apartments, when the Crown Prince rushes 
 in, his hand in his bosom, and extracting a peti- 
 tion, exclaims, " Here is the dagger which was 
 intended for your life 
 
 The crestfallen monarch read the petition, or- 
 dered his son to be placed under arrest, and dis- 
 missed the supplication. Following their royal 
 master, the Prussian visitors keep separate, or rather 
 are kept separate, from the other guests : it is not 
 a loss to society. There is but one voice respect- 
 ing the insufferable arrogance of these sabreurs. 
 Between them and the Austrians, and especially 
 
PRUSSIANS AND RUSSIANS. S5 
 
 their military men, there subsists a bitter jealousy ; 
 the Prussians never failing to assume an air of 
 superiority, which to a foreigner is ridiculous, 
 as they generally make a very poor appearance, 
 and there is little reason with either for being 
 over proud. They are both slaves; the one 
 to the military whims of a gloomy king, the 
 other to a smooth-tongued prime minister. As 
 for their respective military glory, the Prussians, 
 it is true, gained victories under their great Fre- 
 derick, but under such a leader any troops might 
 have proved victorious. During the war of 1790 
 and 94, they proved very indifferent soldiers, and 
 during the period of 1806 they dared not even 
 face the French. On the other hand, Austria con- 
 tinued a warfare of twenty-five years, not without 
 honour ; and though often beaten, her armies have 
 regained their reputation, and defeated Napoleon 
 when in the height of his power, in the certainly 
 glorious battles of Aspern and of Wagram. As_ 
 for the last war of 1813 and 14, Napoleon suc- 
 cumbed to numbers, having lost the assistance of 
 Austria. Frederick- Wilham the Third would else 
 be planting Indian corn in some part of the United 
 States, and his shrewd son, instead of broaching 
 D 2 
 
36 
 
 TOPLITZ. 
 
 his wit on his father and the guards, would be 
 clearing fields, as other honest Yankees do. 
 
 Toplitz has charms, as you will find. The 
 whole is regulated on a noble footing. There 
 is no trace of that venality and beggar-like 
 obtrusion, so disgusting in German refreshing- 
 places. At your departure, you pay the or- 
 chestra a small sum for the delicious table- 
 music you enjoyed, without being in the least 
 troubled by those ambulatory musicians, who 
 oblige you to keep your hand always in your 
 pocket, and to carry with you the kreutzers and 
 groschens, and those nameless sorts of bad coinage 
 for which Germany is so celebrated. The Aus- 
 trian police has at least one good feature; — it is 
 the close attention which it pays not only to the 
 comfort, but even to the inexperience of the 
 sojourner. Landlords, hackney-coachmen, and all 
 that train of hangers-on infesting baths and ho- 
 tels, are here honest from necessity. An extorting 
 landlord is fined without mercy, and footmen are 
 ordered away, should they dare to impose on a 
 sojourner. 
 
 The female society of the high class consists 
 
TOPLITZ. 
 
 37 
 
 mostly of Russian, Saxon, and Polish ladies. 
 More captivating and more dangerous than a 
 Polish lady nothing scarcely can be conceived. 
 His late Majesty the Emperor of all the Rus- 
 sias made a sad experiment even with the aunt 
 of the two most beautiful creatures who adorned, 
 during my stay, the circles of Toplitz. The sub- 
 scription paid in 1811, for a year, to the P- ss 
 
 M y exhausted his Imperial Majesty so com- 
 pletely, that, a few gallantries with the late Q n 
 
 of his P n M y excepted, his Imperial con- 
 sort had afterwards very little reason for jealousy. 
 
 Are you fond of beer, smoking, and military 
 exploits, repeated a hundred times? then seek 
 the company of Prussians, and you may have a 
 can of beer administered at the Eagle, or the 
 Wild-boar ; the battles of Katzbach, and of Bar- 
 sur-Aube, and Mont Martre ; and hear how Wel- 
 lington with his whole army would have been cut 
 to pieces, had it not been for their arrival. And, to 
 remove all doubt, they will show you, out of a 
 pocket-book which had once been red, the plans 
 of these battles. 
 
 The country about Toplitz is called the Pa- 
 
38 
 
 COUNTRY SEATS, 
 
 radise of Bohemia, and is the focus of Bohe- 
 mian high-life during the summer months. 
 Several dukes, princes, and a number of counts, 
 spend the summer here, at their castles and 
 their country mansions, many of which are 
 equal, if not superior, to the finest country seats 
 in England. The most beautiful are the castles 
 of Eisenberg, Postelberg, Rotherheas, Shoukof, 
 but above all Raudnitz. The immense estates of 
 the nobility preclude those variegated scenes, 
 those innumerable beautiful forms, embellished by 
 an exquisite sense of rural beauty, those trim 
 hedges and lawns, and grass-plots, watered by 
 the hand of Nature, the delightful features of an 
 English landscape. You behold beautiful villages 
 buried, as it were, under forests of fruit-trees ; here 
 and there a superb castle rising over the humble 
 cottages, and surrounded by extensive parks, sel- 
 dom trodden by a human foot, except that of the 
 ranger. Our first excursion was to Eisenberg, 
 belonging, with the domain of the same name, to 
 the Prince of Lobkowitz. After having passed a 
 forest for three miles, the castle presented itself 
 almost perpendicularly over our heads. Three 
 avenues, hewn into the forest, lead up to the open 
 foreground on the summit of the highest moun- 
 
DEER-CHASE. 
 
 39 
 
 tain in the surrounding country. From the midst 
 of it this superb mansion rises lofty and com- 
 manding, in the form of a sexagon, of three 
 stories, whose pavilions are surmounted with cu- 
 polas. A herd of deer, after having stared a while 
 at the approaching carri ag lost themselves in 
 the gloomy forest. Two balconies, resting 
 on Ionic pillars, decorate the front and the 
 entrance. From the lobby, decorated with co- 
 lumns of the same order, you ascend a flight of 
 stairs which leads, from both sides, to the first 
 story. It is exclusively for the prince and his 
 family. The picture of one of his ancestors, Bo- 
 huslaus de Lobkowitz, from the pencil of Shret- 
 ta, decorates the great saloon. The rooms are 
 throughout furnished in a princely style. The se- 
 cond story is for strangers, who, even during the 
 absence of the prince, are received and enter- 
 tained in a most hospitable manner. We ac- 
 cepted the invitation of the castellan to stay 
 there for a day ; but declined the invitation 
 to attend the deer chase, which was to 
 be given a week afterwards in honour of the 
 prince's arrival. These deer chases are rather a 
 tame pleasure in Bohemia ; it is merely driving 
 ten or fifteen bucks to the outskirts of a wood, 
 
40 
 
 CASTLE OF EISENBERG, 
 
 where the sportsmen are stationed. They are shot, 
 or rather slaughtered, as they approach. A dinner 
 and a ball conclude the entertainment. The view 
 from this castle is truly grand. On the north- 
 east, there towers into the clouds, which rising and 
 lowering seem still to be influenced by the magic 
 powers of Rubezahl, the king of the Sudites, the 
 Schneekoppe ; to the west, the Saxon Erzgebiirge ; 
 and to the south the beautiful Bohemia, with 
 its infinite variety of ruins, castles, towns, villages, 
 spread like a carpet before your eyes. This 
 castle is visited once every year by the prince 
 and his family for a month or two during the 
 sporting season. The forests belonging to this 
 domain amount to 100,000 acres, part of which 
 is inclosed, and stocked with 250 deer and fifty 
 boars. Every third year a deer hunt is held, 
 which is attended by the nobihty and surround- 
 ing country. This establishment, which in Eng- 
 land would require at least 2000/. a-year, is here 
 carried on with comparatively very little expense. 
 The game is supplied with barley from the ten 
 farms of the domain, containing about 25,000 
 acres of arable land, meadow, orchards, and hop- 
 gardens. They are so situated as to be surround- 
 ed by the sixty villages which appertain to this 
 
THE DUKEDOM OF LANDWITZ. 41 
 
 estate, the inhabitants of which are bound to per- 
 form the menial duties, ploughing, keeping the 
 roads in order or laying out new ones, and to attend 
 the field-sports, which are held regularly on these 
 farms and the lands of the peasantry. The eco- 
 nomy of the domain is superintended by a director, 
 the forests by an inspector : both are responsible 
 to the Government ; the first, for the execution of 
 the government's orders, which he carries into 
 effect ; tlie second, for the proper management of 
 the forests. 
 
 The revenues of this vast domain are raised 
 from the produce of the fields, and iron-furnaces, 
 the sales of timber, the tithes of the subjects, 
 and the taxes which they have to pay from sales 
 of their proper tj to their lord. The clear in- 
 come amounts to 45,000/. which, with six other 
 domains, and his dukedom, (Laudwitz,) yield a 
 clear revenue of from 20 to 25,000/. a sum suffi- 
 cient in Austria to keep up the highest style. 
 There are in Bohemia, comparatively, but a small 
 number of freeholders possessed of estates. Al- 
 most all the proprietors of lands are either domi- 
 nical, viz. possessors of domains, or rustic sub- 
 jects of these domains. Of course, the landed 
 
42 
 
 CARLSBAD. 
 
 nobility of Bohemia still exercise a considerable 
 influence over their subjects, far greater than in 
 Austria Proper. The Government feels the 
 necessity of cajoling them, relaxing or resuming 
 its rigour, just as the public spirit seems to 
 require. We returned, two days afterwards, 
 and took the road through Brix, an old town, 
 with a stock sufficient to provide the whole king- 
 dom of Bohemia with its namesake. The use 
 made hitherto of these treasures is very limit- 
 ed ; every one digs for bricks on his lands, just as 
 he thinks proper. 
 
 One of the most interesting spots in Bohemia, 
 and we may say in the world, is Carlsbad. The 
 road from Toplitz to Carlsbad leads through an 
 expanse of wheat-fields, forty miles in length, 
 without the least interruption. It is the richest 
 and most fertile part of this kingdom. The pea- 
 sants are generally wealthy. Between the towns 
 Santz and Konnotau lie the superb castle and the 
 domain of Prince Schwarzenberg, celebrated for 
 sports. Twelve thousand head of game (pheasants 
 and hares) fall annual victims to these sports, to 
 which the surrounding nobility and gentry are 
 either invited or admitted. Carlsbad lies at the 
 
WATERS OF CARLSBAD. 
 
 43 
 
 outskirts of the Erzgeblirge. We arrived the 
 morning of the second day, after a tour of fifty- 
 eight miles, at a platform from which a road 
 winds along the ridge of a mountain, 1800 feet 
 high, into a deep valley. The town is now hori- 
 zontally at your feet, and again moved from your 
 sight by the windings of the chaussee. Arches, 
 from thirty to fifty feet high, rise from the declivi- 
 ties, and support the chaussee ; a magnificent spe- 
 cimen of modern architecture, which, for boldness 
 and solidity, is superior to every thing of this 
 kind on the Continent. The carriage rolls down 
 with ease, without having its wheels locked ; and 
 you arrive in the town unconscious of the tre- 
 mendous height, till you look up from the abyss. 
 Carlsbad extends for about a mile in a valley, 
 from a quarter to half a mile in width, watered 
 by the small river Kopl. Close behind the houses, 
 the mountains rise like mighty walls, in pre- 
 cipitous and wild magnificence. In the midst of 
 this pretty little town, with about 300 houses, 
 just before the stone bridge, the Sprudel pours 
 forth its boiling waters. It is covered with a rotun- 
 da, where you behold fashionables, of almost every 
 nation, sipping and scalding their lips with the boil- 
 ing waters of this celebrated fountain. You cross 
 
44 
 
 WATERS OF CARLSBAD. 
 
 the stone bridge, and a narrow street leads you to 
 the Naubaum, the water of which is generally re- 
 sorted to by the new-comers, who, after every bum- 
 per, stride with hasty paces along the wooden galle- 
 ry running along the bank of the Kopl. Generally 
 they begin with eight glasses, taken at intervals 
 of a quarter of an hour, advancing to sixteen, and 
 even to twenty-four, four of which, in the last 
 stage of the cure, are taken from the Sprudel. 
 
 It is the resort of all the hypochondriacs, sple- 
 netics, niysanthropes, and sedentaries of all de- 
 scriptions. Nature seems to have chosen this 
 place for those mental patients who wish to for- 
 get the wounds inflicted in the storms of society. 
 Its inhabitants are gifted with that cheerful and 
 alleviating temper which exists only for the com- 
 fort of their visitors. The narrow space in which 
 this beautiful little town is compressed, reduces 
 the 2000 inhabitants and as many visitors to a 
 single family ; and you can be hardly two days 
 here before every one will know you. The natives, 
 like their visitors, are quite the reverse of those of 
 Toplitz, a gay, lively race, indefatigable to make 
 their guests comfortable during the season. They 
 are said to make amends for their trouble, during 
 
SOCIETY OF CARLSBAD. 
 
 45 
 
 the winter, when they regularly spend the earn- 
 ings of the summer. And while the fashionables 
 of Toplitz are confined in the morning to their 
 beds, those of Carlsbad are seen crowding near 
 the two fountains, and digesting, by mighty strides, 
 the regular prescription. A carriage, that indis- 
 pensable requisite in Toplitz, is seldom seen in 
 these narrow streets, unless it be for an excursion 
 to Egra, to pay a visit to the manes of Wald- 
 stein, the victim of his superstition and ambi- 
 tion. Most visitors prefer sauntering through 
 the beautiful and shadowy promenades ; or 
 climbing, in every direction, the precipitous 
 cliffs to Lord Finnlater's temple. The regular 
 sedentaries pace quietly through the park, which 
 extends on the upper end towards the Ham- 
 mer. The effective powers of these waters are 
 too well known to require explanation. They 
 were discovered by Charles the Fourth, who, 
 pursuing a deer, and on the point of discharging 
 his arrow, saw the animal plunge into a well, 
 from which arose columns of steam. His attend- 
 ants would fain have persuaded him that it was 
 the kitchen of some magician : the undaunted, 
 and, for his age, enlightened monarch, explored it, 
 and thus bestowed one of the greatest blessings on 
 
46 
 
 AUSTRIAN TRAVELLING. 
 
 all the heroes of the quill, from the prime minister 
 down to the poor author, who, as he blesses this 
 delightful spot, remembers, not without shudder- 
 ing, the Congress of Carlsbad. 
 
 We returned, highly satisfied with our excursion, 
 on the same road to Toplitz. The best mode of 
 travelling in Austria, is in your own carriage with 
 post-horses : the fixed price for two horses is seven 
 shillings for ten miles. As carriages may be had 
 at a very easy rate, this manner of travelling is 
 generally resorted to, and only the inferior classes 
 are seen crowding into the stages, or, as they are 
 called here, the diligences. The road from Top- 
 litz to Prague, sevent3^-six miles, lies through 
 Lowositz, Gitschin, and Well wan. A trip of a 
 few miles, will carry you thence to the mag- 
 nificent summer residence of Prince Lobkowitz, 
 Duke of Raudnitz. This is one of the finest do- 
 mains in Bohemia: the castle and parks are on 
 the grandest scale, the latter stocked with 400 deer 
 and boars. This, with the picturesque scenery of 
 the surrounding country, the vine-covered moun- 
 tains of Melnich, its decaying castle, and the 
 lordly Elbe, give to the scenery an air of inexpres- 
 sible grandeur and sadness. The whole country 
 exhibits a sort of still life, which contrasts, in a 
 
BOHEMIAN VILLAGES. 
 
 47 
 
 strange manner, with the beautiful variety of the 
 scenery, aud still more so with the deep and in- 
 tense character of its inhabitants. The vineyards 
 near Lowositz and Aussig, and those of Melnich 
 and Raudnitz, laid out and planted with scions 
 from Burgundy, under Charles the Fourth, are 
 still vineyards. The villages are confined to their 
 narrow boundaries as they existed 200 years ago. 
 The towns through which we passed, Budin, Leut- 
 neritz, are in tolerable order, and even superior 
 to those of an equal size in Germany; but as the 
 decaying walls show scarcely their bounds, a new 
 house has been added. There is, indeed, between 
 Budin and Leutneritz, the strong fortress Maria 
 Thessienstad, garrisoned in time of war with 
 1200 men ; but this is of course no benefit 
 for the country. The houses of the Bohemian 
 peasantry are generally built of stone, or bricks 
 dried in the sun; and thatched with straw 
 or with shingles ; those of the wealthier with 
 tiles: only the floor of the principal room is 
 boarded. 
 
 The Austrian Government, afraid in any manner, 
 from its peculiar situation, of raising the spirit 
 of its subjects, which might endanger their tram- 
 mels, allows them to prosper only just as much 
 
48 
 
 BOHEMIAN PEASANTRY. 
 
 as will enable them to eat, to drink, to pay taxes, 
 and to have a few guldens in case of a war. Store is 
 not thought of, or rather it is presumed dangerous. 
 It is a curious circumstance, that the emperor 
 only gave his consent to the famous national 
 bankruptcy, when his ministerWallis represented to 
 him, that the excessive abundance of the currency 
 had raised the spirit and the enterprise of his sub- 
 jects so as to endanger their subjection. On the 
 other hand, if the farmer is not able to pay his 
 taxes, as is really now the case with 1000 of 
 them, not only a respite, but even a remittance is 
 allowed them, and their farms are seldom or 
 never publicly sold. 
 
 The Bohemian peasantry enjoy a certain degree 
 of freedom : they are not the property of their 
 lords, as in Hungary ; they may marry, and sell 
 their estates, but are not allowed to buy a lordship 
 as a domain. From their estates they have to pay 
 double the taxes, in proportion to an equal number 
 of acres possessed by their lords ; besides tithes 
 to their lords and their parsons, and the per- 
 formance of menial offices, either for their fa- 
 milies, or, if they are possessed of a team, with 
 their horses and cattle. These menial offices are 
 
JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. 
 
 49 
 
 regulated by the Supreme Agrarian Aulic Tri- 
 bunal, under the superintendence of the Com- 
 mittee of the States of the kingdom. The me- 
 dium through which they are carried into execu- 
 tion, is the director with his subalterns, a comp- 
 troller, a secretary, clerks and beadles. These 
 officers are salaried by him and subject to the pro- 
 prietor of the domain, but they are, at the same 
 time, answerable to the government. The director 
 collects and dehvers the taxes to the chief town of 
 the circle. He is the means of carrying into effect 
 the conscription, of laying out public roads, rais- 
 ing provisions for the army, and directing public 
 measures in regard to the peasantry. He con- 
 stitutes the immediate or first political tribunal 
 to which the peasant applies. In case he abuses 
 his power, the peasant is allowed to appeal to the 
 second and higher tribunal, the captain of the 
 circle,* who holds the rank of counsellor of the 
 government, or colonel of a regiment, resides in 
 the chief town of the circle, and has four com- 
 missaries, with a number of clerks. The third 
 tribunal to which a peasant may resort is the 
 Government of the kingdom, headed by the Su- 
 preme Burggrave as president, who has under 
 
 * Bohemia is divided into sixteen circleSo 
 
 E 
 
50 
 
 JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. 
 
 him a vice-president and thirty counsellors. The 
 fourth tribunal to which a peasant has access is the 
 ^uljc Chancelleries under the immediate direction 
 of the Minister of the Interior ; the last, the Em- 
 peror with his State Council, of which he is 
 president — Prince Metternich, vice-president. 
 
 In the same manner the judicial department is 
 arranged. Every domain has a Justiziar, a law- 
 yer by profession, who is equally subject to the 
 proprietor of the domains, as far as he is salaried 
 by him. He decides in the first instance, and is 
 assisted by a secretary and several inferior clerks : 
 the litigant parties, if not content with the sen- 
 tence of the justiziar, may resort to the second 
 tribunal, the Court of Appeal, which holds its 
 sittings in the capital of the kingdom, and is com- 
 posed of a president, a vice-president, and twen- 
 ty-five counsellors. If the Court of Appeal con- 
 firms the sentence of the first instance, no farther 
 appeal is possible: if not, the parties may forward 
 their cause to the supreme Aulic tribunal of Justice 
 at Vienna, headed by the Minister of Justice. The 
 Government has taken care to protect the pea- 
 sants from the oppression of the lords and their 
 directors ; and the captains of the circles or dis- 
 
BOHEMIAN PEASANTRY. 
 
 51 
 
 tricts, to whom the domains of the lord, as well 
 as the lands of the peasant, are subject, are a 
 sufficient check on the nobility, if they should 
 attempt to encroach on their subjects through 
 their directors. Still, as the number of masters 
 in authority is infinite, and as the poor peasant 
 is subject to all of them, his share of personal 
 freedom, as obtained by Joseph the Second, is 
 little better than real slavery. 
 
 The character of these peasants is such as one 
 might expect from a people depressed by a crowd 
 of masters, every one of whom thinks himself en- 
 titled to make them sensible of his superiority. 
 They are slavish, insidious, treacherous ! There 
 is a gloom brooding on the countenance of the 
 Bohemian, or, as he prefers to style himself, 
 Czechian, which makes him unfeeling and stub- 
 bornly indiiferent to your money or your offers ; 
 and he rejects every argument except that ad ho- 
 minem. Music is the only thing which clears up 
 his melancholy brow. It is astonishing what a 
 deep sense the Bohemian of the lowest class has 
 of music. The gloomy stare of his countenance 
 brightens ; his sharp grey eyes kindle and beam 
 with fire and sensibility ; the whole man is chang- 
 E 2 
 
52 
 
 BOHEMIAN MUSIC. 
 
 ed. Nothing can exceed the dignity and har- 
 mony of the sacred music. When at Raudnitz, 
 we entered a village church, attracted by the long- 
 drawn cadences and the solemn concords of an 
 organ, joined by the voices of the whole congre- 
 gation. The melancholy air of the music, the sad- 
 ness so visibly expressed in the countenances of 
 the singers, gave to the whole an interesting 
 character, which it would be difficult to describe. 
 
 The Slavonian nations, Russians, Polanders, and 
 Bohemians, are celebrated for their musical ta- 
 knts, especially the inall tunes, and their romantic 
 turn. There is hardly any people more inclined 
 to the marvellous, and more fond of tales, than 
 the Bohemians. Without being very supersti- 
 tious, they dwell with rapture on the deeds of 
 their ancestors. They know by tradition the 
 history of their first dukes — Czech Krock, of his 
 three daughters, and of the founder of their dy- 
 nasty, Premist. They will show the traveller, on 
 his passage from Toplitz to Prague, near Wel- 
 warn, a solitary barren mountain, where one of 
 their first dukes and warriors with 500 of his 
 followers lies asleep, waiting for the thunder- 
 clap which is to rouse him and lay open the doors 
 
TRADITIONS OF THli: BOHEMIANS. 
 
 53 
 
 of his prison, from whence he will sally forth to 
 deliver his countrymen from the yoke of the 
 foreigners, whom they call hieniezy, intruders. 
 They have their Amazons, and will show you near 
 Prague the ruins of a castle, once the seat of 
 these heroines: but what excites more than any 
 thing else their enthusiasm, is their King Charles 
 the Fourth, son of John, who fell in the battle 
 of Cressy. There will scarcely be found a pea- 
 sant who knows not exactly the sayings and 
 doings of this excellent prince, while one would 
 ask two millions and a-half of them in vain who 
 was the father of the present emperor ! This is 
 the more extraordinary as the Austrian -monarchs, 
 since the Revolution, in 1618, did every thing in 
 their power to extirpate the national spirit of this 
 people. The public and literary records, and they 
 were certainly far from being indifferent, when 
 we consider' the time in which they originated, 
 were not only destroyed by literary auto da fes 
 of the Jesuits, (*^) but every attempt to write an 
 unprejudiced national history was punished in a 
 manner which discouraged even the boldest to sacri- 
 fice his existence, and to linger away his life in an 
 Austrian dungeon. Even a member of the prince- 
 ly family of Lob Kowitz, Bohuslaus, fell a victim to 
 
54 IIELIGION OF THE BOHEMIANS. 
 
 his desire to enlighten his countrymen ! He died in 
 a dungeon. They have, as well as other CathoUc 
 countries, their share of superstition, and thou- 
 sands of coarse statues and paintings decorate 
 their houses, streets, roads, and paths ; but the 
 Virgin Mary excepted, these saints are all their 
 own countrymen ; they would not even look at 
 a foreign saint. I expressed my astonishment at 
 the thousands who flocked to the shrine of St. 
 J ohn de Nepomuch at Prague : it is, I was told, 
 the only record of our national existence which 
 is left to us, and we celebrate with his fete at 
 once that of our ancient and glorious kings, in 
 whose times he lived. They feel deeply that they 
 are oppressed ; they feel it, still more, at the 
 present period. The Bohemian is rather fanatic 
 than religious or superstitious : their priests have 
 less influence than in other Catholic countries of 
 equal intellectual standing, though, before Joseph 
 the Second, this country teemed with monas- 
 teries and monks of every description, introduced 
 by Ferdinand the Second, to subdue them the 
 more efl'ectually. The suspicious temper of the 
 Bohemian makes him behold, in these priests, the 
 instruments of Government ; and though the fol- 
 
RELIGION OF THE BOHEMIANS. 
 
 55 
 
 lowers of Huss and Hieronyn of Prague have 
 been extirpated with fire and sword, and are 
 even now, if detected, rewarded with fifty lashes 
 on their posteriors, yet they are still very nu- 
 merous, under the cloak of Lutheranism. 
 
56 
 
 PRAGUE. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Prague. — Sitting of the Diet of Bohemia. — Nobility of Bo- 
 hemia. — Private Theatre of Count Clara Gallas. — Musi- 
 cal Conservatorium.— Technical Institution. — Museum. 
 — University. — The System of Education in the Austrian 
 Empire — its consequence. — Secret Police. 
 
 The view of Prao-ue, from the road of Toplitz, 
 is imposing ; you descend into a valley extending 
 for five miles, and amphitheatrically rising towards 
 the west : it terminates in a ridge, which runs ob- 
 liquely the breadth of the whole city. On this 
 ridge stands the imperial castle, an immense front 
 of colossal buildings, seen at the distance of ten 
 miles. You pass through an indifferent suburb, 
 a half-ruined gate, and enter a street scented by 
 numerous kitchens in the front of the houses. It 
 terminates in a Gothic tower, which separates the 
 city from the new town, Neustadt, laid out by 
 
SITTING OF THE DIET OF BOHEMIA. 57 
 
 Charles IV. Before this tower two streets di- 
 verge, from 150 to 200 feet wide. This part of 
 the town is by far the most regular ; it consists 
 almost entirely of noblemen's palaces, and some 
 excellent hotels, among which the Schwarze Ross 
 (black horse) holds the first rank. You thence 
 pass, in the company of your cicerone, a hanger- 
 on at the said hotel, (and, by-the-by, your 
 spy,) through the gate of the before-mentioned 
 tower, a relic of Charles IV. and a street whose 
 buildings bespeak the sixteenth, and its irregular 
 dimensions the twelfth century : it runs out into 
 the great market-place of the ancient city. The 
 city-house, a venerable-looking building of the 
 thirteenth century, before whose portal many a 
 noble head has fallen a victim to ill-planned revo- 
 lutions against the House of Austria ; the stately 
 and ancient architecture of the houses in general ^ 
 and especially the Gothic church of the Tein, de- 
 serve attention. It has two steeples, 200 feet high, 
 one of which, however, lost its turreted slate roof 
 by a stroke of lightning, and has been replaced by 
 a very poor shingle roof, to guard this noble mo- 
 nument of Gothic architecture on each side. The 
 lower part of the church itself is entirely hidden 
 by a row of houses through which you enter the 
 
58 
 
 MANSION OF COUNT GALLAS. 
 
 church : its interior exhibits a striking resem- 
 blance to the cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. 
 Among the monuments, that of Tycho Brahe is 
 conspicuous. Through a labyrinth of crooked, 
 narrow streets, which show rather too plainly, 
 that the founder of this renowned city, the 
 Duke Premistj was any thing but a mathema- 
 tician, you come to the mansion of Count Ciaru 
 Gallas, the noblest palace in Prague. It was 
 built by one of his ancestors, after a plan drawn 
 by Michael Angelo, and consists of a centre and 
 two wings. The two main entrances are guarded 
 by four caryatides, on which the balconies rest. 
 The parapets are decorated with statues of a 
 workmanship rather above mediocrity. Archi- 
 tecture, sculpture, every thing combines to make 
 it one of the most superb palaces of the nobility. 
 A street more irregular, if possible, than the 
 former, runs along the ci-devant college of the 
 Jesuits, which contains not less than two large 
 churches and five chapels. Through the gate of 
 a second beautiful tower, from which the students 
 of Prague resisted successfully the invading Swedes 
 in 1648, you enter the bridge, which is disfigured 
 by twenty-eight stands of coarsely executed statues. 
 A third gate receives you, which unites two 
 
PALACE OF PRINCE LOBKOWITZ. 59 
 
 Gothic towers, which protect the bridge from this 
 side. The small town commences here, built on 
 an ascent which leads across the main place, di- 
 vided into two parts by a second college of the 
 Jesuits, little inferior to the former in size. It 
 is the seat of the Tribunal of Appeal, of the Court 
 of Justice for the nobility, and of several other 
 offices. A range of magnificent palaces issues 
 fi'om this square ; and a turn to your right, places 
 you before the imperial castle. It consists of 
 two colossal wings connected by a centre. The 
 southern wing runs along the before-mentioned 
 ridge, and forms a straight line, at least a thou- 
 sand yards long, with the chapter of the No- 
 bles Dames, and the palace of Prince Lobkowitz : 
 The chief front looks toward the West. Three 
 gates open to it, decorated with the emblems of 
 Austria and Bohemia. From the opgi hall in the 
 centre, two flights of stairs lead to the imperial 
 apartments. We passed a noble staircase, the first, 
 second, and third guard-room, and entered the 
 audience-chamber. The rooms are lofty, painted, 
 and hung with Flemish pictures; but with the ex- 
 ception of a huge couch of state, with a corre- 
 sponding tester, cushions, and matrasses, of red da- 
 mask, there is not the least furniture. Through 
 
60 
 
 IMPERIAL DIET. 
 
 a corridor, on the left side of which is the Imperial 
 chape], we passed to the Bohemian saloon, where 
 the Diet of the kingdom was then sitting : it was 
 on the 15th of August. The avenues to the Im- 
 perial castle, the court-yards, and the staircase 
 which leads into the sitting chamber, were lined 
 with the (Bohmischen Saal) national guards. The 
 saloon is a square chamber with two entrances. 
 Opposite the one through which the members of 
 the Diet enter, a platform is raised, on which a 
 chair is placed, the whole surmounted by a canopy, 
 which was elevated ; the Supreme Burggrave, as 
 President of the Diet, being only a count by 
 birth : had he been a prince, it would have been 
 lowered. When the Imperial Commissaries enter- 
 ed, the whole assembly rose. The Supreme Burg- 
 grave, standing under the canopy, descended the 
 three steps, ^and complimented them ; after vvhich 
 the members of the Diet took their seats. To the 
 right hand sate the Archbishop, as Primate of the 
 kingdom, covered with his palUum, and decorated 
 with the insignia of an Imperial order; next to 
 him, three bishops in their purple robes ; the 
 abbots, in black or white silk gowns, with gold 
 chains and crosses. The benches in front of the 
 
IMPERIAL DIET. 
 
 61 
 
 canopy were occupied by the lords of the kingdom ; 
 the second order dressed in their national cos- 
 tume — a red coat, richly embroidered with silver, 
 epaulettes of the same, white breeches, silk stock- 
 ings, and a three-cornered hat with bullions. Many 
 of them bore orders ; almost all the insignia of an 
 Imperial chamberlain — a golden key. The knights 
 occupied the benches on the left, and were dressed 
 in the same manner. The representatives of the 
 cities were in black. The Supreme Burggrave 
 addressed at first the Prince Archbishop and the 
 spiritual lords, in the Bohemian language ; then 
 the temporal lords of the kingdom, princes, counts, 
 and barons; afterwards the knights (Ritterstand) ; 
 and last, the representatives of the cities. Then, 
 complimentary addresses being over, one of the 
 secretaries read the Imperial proposition respecting 
 the taxes to be laid upon the kingdom for the en- 
 suing year. They were received in silence with a 
 low bow. The Supreme Burggrave asked finally, 
 whether any of the members had to propose mat- 
 ters respecting the good of the kingdom. A 
 deep silence reigned throughout the splendid as- 
 sembly: at last, the Burggrave thanked them 
 in the name of their august sovereign for their 
 ready attendance, and the assembly broke up. 
 
62 
 
 IMPERIAL DIET. 
 
 This pageant is the remains of the constitution 
 which Bohemia enjoyed for more than 300 years : 
 its form is still the same, but the spirit is gone. 
 Regularly there are two Diets held every year : 
 Postulate and Extraordinary Diets. For both, 
 the Imperial invitation is issued to the different 
 members, viz. the prelates of the kingdom as 
 the first order, composed of the Archbishop of 
 Prague, the Bishops of Leitmeritz, Koniggratz, 
 Budweis, with several abbots. The second are 
 the lords possessed of domains whose number 
 may amount to a hundred. The knights possessed 
 of domains constitute the third class. The 
 fourth are the four cities, Prague, Budweis, Pit- 
 zen, and Koniggratz, whose citizens have the 
 right to buy or possess domains, and the privilege 
 of being represented by their burgomasters and 
 aldermen. Two commissaries from among the 
 lords and knights, are chosen by the Emperor 
 to represent him. They are brought in the state- 
 carriage and six of the Supreme Burggrave to the 
 sitting chamber. The real power of the States is 
 now limited to the repartition of the taxes, and a cer- 
 tain jurisdiction which they still exercise through a 
 committee of eight members chosen from among the 
 
IMPEUIAL DIET. 
 
 63 
 
 four orders, and confirmed by the Emperor. The 
 Austrian monarchs thought it necessary to spare 
 the feehngs of a nobility and a nation, which 
 cHng with cherishing fondness to their ancient 
 hberty, or rather national existence : for, it is but 
 fair to state, that the condition of the peasantry 
 has been improved, especially since the times of 
 Joseph. The real constitutional liberty before rest- 
 ed entirely in the hands of the nobility, of whose 
 power we may form an idea from the strange 
 privileges which they enjoyed, and one of which 
 was, that every lord was entitled to the virginity 
 of his domain ; every new-married peasant having 
 been obliged to carry his bride at a certain hour 
 before the door of his lord, and to fetch her home 
 again the next morning. But even for these im- 
 provements of their condition, the Bohemian pea- 
 sant is but little obliged to the sovereigns, who 
 deprived him of his national existence. The 
 difference between the Bohemians and Germans, 
 in this respect, is striking. While the latter, 
 a few attorneys and politicians excepted, v/ill 
 scarcely take any interest in their assemblies, and 
 consider them, what they in their present state 
 really are, rather a nuisance, — the former will ask, 
 
64 
 
 NATIONAL FEELING. 
 
 witlj a curiosity bordering on anguish, " What has 
 been decided in the Diet ?" and turn pale and 
 downcast when they hear of nothing but taxes. 
 
 What a powerful thing national feeling is, we may 
 learn by the contrast existing between the Bohemi- 
 ans, Poles, and even Hungarians. Their looks speak. 
 Their mournful countenances, when they hear 
 the name of a free country pronounced ; their 
 clenching of the teeth when they hear of Great 
 Britain's free sons ; and their inexpressible sadness 
 when their own country is mentioned, the battles 
 they had to fight for a strange cause, the armies 
 they have to recruit and to pay, for their own 
 oppression, and for the sceptre of a famil}^ who 
 are strangers to them and their interest, though 
 for centuries their masters, — and who, in their 
 imbecility, see only the means of keeping them 
 in subjection, and crippling their national re- 
 sources. An intuitive national feeling and ha- 
 tred towards foreigners, especially Germans, are 
 among the characteristic features of the Sla- 
 vonian nations. 
 
 The Poles, under the Austrian dominion, 
 will readily acknowledge that their condition is 
 
BOHEMIAN CHAMBER. 
 
 65 
 
 far better than that of their countrymen who are 
 under the sway of Russia. But the idea of being 
 governed by foreigners and strangers, is alone 
 sufficient to drive them mad ; and they rose up in 
 arms against Austria during the disastrous war of 
 1809, choosing rather to submit to the still more 
 tyrannical sceptre of Russia, their brother nation, 
 than to Austria. After the session was over, we 
 visited the Bohemian chamber ; the same where, in 
 the year 1618, the Imperial commissaries, Count 
 Siawato and Martiniz, were thrown out of the win- 
 dows, by the adherents of Frederick the Palatine. 
 This summary manner of showing their patriot- 
 ism failed, however, of the expected success, 
 and the Imperial commissaries in a fall of 
 nearly eighty yards, escaped without breaking 
 their necks, through the intervention of a dung- 
 hill. 
 
 j From the third court-yard, we entered the Ca- 
 thedral of St. Vitur, situated in the centre of the 
 Imperial castle, with its appendages the chapter 
 of the Noble Dames, and the palace of the Prince 
 Lobkowitz. Its size is moderate, but its decora- 
 tions are so beautiful, its pointed columns and 
 
 F 
 
66 
 
 CATHEDRAL OF ST. VITUR. 
 
 arches so noble, and its sculptured beauties so su- 
 perior to those of other Gothic monuments, that 
 one cannot help forming a high idea of the state of 
 Bohemia, when under its own kings. It is not the 
 most beautiful, but certainly the prettiest Gothic 
 church on the Continent ; begun and finished 
 under Charles IV. His tomb is close to the 
 main entrance. Two marble figures, representing 
 him and his Imperial consort, are stretched upon 
 the mausoleum, their hands crossed, their heads 
 crowned, at their feet the emblem of the kingdom, 
 an erect lion with a double tail. Farther up are the 
 monuments of the Emperors, Mathias and Rodolph, 
 the last kings of Bohemia who resided in Prague. 
 In the right aisle is the shrine of one of the 
 patrons of the kingdom, St. John de Nepomuch, 
 confessor to the consort of Wenceslaus, the cruel 
 son of Charles IV. This monarch, in a fit of 
 drunkenness and jealousy, caused John to be 
 thrown from the bridge into the Moldcva, because 
 he pertinaciously refused to reveal the confession 
 of the queen. Of course he was canonized, and 
 his tongue is there shown to the pious believer, 
 fresh and well preserved, for more than 300 
 years. The quantity of silver and gold on his 
 
CATHEDRAL OF ST. VITUR. 67 
 
 shrine amounts to 4000/. When the rumour of 
 its being doomed to the same fate as the rest 
 of the treasures of the churches, spread over the 
 country, thousands of Bohemians left their homes 
 to bid farewell to their national property. The 
 gloomy and menacing silence of the pilgrims 
 saved this treasure. The Government thought it 
 prudent to spare the feelings of an oppressed peo- 
 ple, and the order was revoked. On the same 
 side is the Imperial lodge, and the chapel of St. 
 Wenceslaw, the first Christian duke who paid for 
 his piety with his life. He was murdered by his 
 brother, Boleslaus, at the instigation of his mother, 
 Drohomira. 
 
 The square, which extends in front of the Im- 
 perial castle, is lined with several palaces, among 
 which those of the Duke of Reich stadt and of 
 the Archbishop, are conspicuous ; the former was 
 the residence of the Emperor Alexander, and the 
 latter of the King of Prussia, during the Congress 
 at Prague. 
 
 The view from the terrace of the castle over 
 the whole extensive city, with its numberless 
 F 2 
 
68 
 
 THE BOHEMIAN ARISTOCRACY. 
 
 churches, towers, and palaces, its bridge stained 
 with the hue of age, the wide river with its 
 beautiful islands and parks, is a noble sight. It 
 is the true picture of a once powerful hierarchy, 
 and still wealthy nobility, struggling with the 
 impending decay of their own power, and of 
 their country. There are about forty ancient 
 Bohemian families, who may be said to constitute 
 the leading aristocracy of the kingdom : their 
 estates amount to nearly two-thirds of the landed 
 property, including their peasants. The most 
 distinguished among them are the families of the 
 Princes Lobkowitz, Schwarzenberg, Ruisky ; the 
 Counts Haw, Clow, Chortiniz, Schleck, Chotiek, 
 Wrbno, Wrtbz, Kollowrat, Ezurin, Waldstein, 
 Sternberg, and Nostiz. These are considered as 
 Bohemian families ; whereas the Princes Lichten- 
 stein, Ditsichstein, CoUoredo, Mansfield, Auer- 
 sperg, Windischgratz, Clary, Kaunitz, Salm, 
 Thurn, are reckoned among the German families, 
 though they are possessed of large estates in the 
 kingdom. Most of their possessions are do- 
 nations of the Austrian Emperor, who, by these 
 amalgamating means, desired to break the spirit of 
 the national nobility, and succeeded in his wishes. 
 The former took an active part in the fatal war of 
 
STATE OF BOHEMIA. 
 
 69 
 
 1809. They raised battalions from among their 
 subjects, and many also equipped them and put 
 themselves at their head. The great sums which 
 they were to take up, the subsequent wars of 
 1813 and of 1814, the increasing taxes even 
 after these wars, the natural consequences of a 
 bad financial management of an expensive Prime 
 Minister, a secret policy and high standing in 
 the political sphere, contributed not a little to 
 damp their spirits. 
 
 Bohemia is, without doubt, the most oppressed 
 and least favoured of all the provinces and king- 
 doms of the Austrian empire. Though Bohemia, 
 with its appendage, Moravia, has not more than five 
 millions of inhabitants, the sixth part of the popu- 
 lation of the Austrian empire, yet these two pro- 
 vinces bear not less than a third of the whole ex- 
 penses and contributions, and furnish more troops 
 than the kingdom of Hungary with ten millions of 
 inhabitants. What adds to the mortification of 
 this people, is the indifference shown to their inte- 
 rest. Its principal river, the Elbe, flowing through 
 the finest part of the kingdom, it was thought 
 proper to insure to the inhabitants the export of 
 their produce to Hamburg. The treaty of na- 
 
70 PRIVATE THEATRICALS OF PRAGUE. 
 
 vigation, as concluded by the Austrian envoy, 
 the favourite of Metternich, now president of 
 the German Diet at Frankfort, bears evident 
 marks of being dictated by a policy which is 
 afraid of seeing this people in contact with the 
 Germans. Of course, Metternich and the pre- 
 sent system is not looked upon in the most fa- 
 vourable light by the national nobility, and they 
 are in silent opposition to his measures. 
 
 We visited, the day after our arrival, the 
 private theatre of Count Claru Gallas, a nobleman 
 who, for his patriotic feeling and his incessant 
 exertions to counterpoise the dead weight of 
 despotism, deserves universal praise. The night''s 
 performance was Schiller's Maria Stuart. I was 
 particularly struck with the part acted by the 
 Countess Schliel, as Queen Elizabeth ; and Mrs. 
 Siddons herself would have acknowledged her 
 dilettante rival an incomparable representative of 
 this proud and selfish prude, yet still great cha- 
 racter. This, however, was but a faint prelude 
 to Goethe's Torquato Tasso, performed a week 
 later, the inimitable picture of high life. It is 
 almost impossible to draw the line of demarca- 
 
OPERA AT PRAGUE. 
 
 71 
 
 tion closer, to paint the delicate nuances of a love 
 checked by courtly haughtiness and sneering con- 
 tempt, which the prince of German poets draws 
 so masterly in Tasso, far better than Prince 
 Thun Tanis, and Count Thun. They moved in 
 their own sphere, and their play was natural. 
 It looks strange to see noblemen and ladies on 
 the boards^ and in the cothurnus; but they are 
 forced into this monopoly. Though the public 
 theatre was built at their own expense and 
 supported in a way suitable to the resources of 
 a moderate kingdom, yet the Emperor, afraid lest, 
 his subjects should grow wanton from the in- 
 tellectual enjoyments of classic or liberal works, 
 ordered not only their mutilation, but most of 
 Schiller's works, which are even performed on the 
 Vienna stage, to be here entirely prohibited ; they 
 are less trusted than the Austrians. The nobility 
 themselves perform in this private theatre, and 
 none but noblemen of their rank, or strangers 
 who are introduced into their circles, are ad- 
 mitted. 
 
 The public opera is still above mediocrity, its 
 orchestra unrivalled. The Bohemians have a sin- 
 
72 THE EMPEROR JOSEPH AND MOZART. 
 
 gularly fine ear for instrumental music, and per- 
 form con amove. When Mozart had composed 
 his chef-d'oeuvre, Don Giovanni, he hastened to 
 Prague to lay his work before a public, which, as 
 he expressed himself, was alone capable of giving 
 a correct opinion of the merits of his production. 
 It was accordingly performed through three suc- 
 cessive nights. The enthusiasm increased with 
 every performance. When he returned to Vi- 
 enna, this masterpiece met there with a cold re- 
 ception ; the Emperor Joseph was present during 
 the performance. Mozart was called before the 
 monarch : — " Mozart," said the monarch, " your 
 music would do very well, but there are too many 
 notes in it — " Just as many," replied the of- 
 fended artist,^' as there ought to be V ij) 
 
 The Bohemian nobility have, with a proper 
 sense of the musical bias of their countrymen, 
 established an institution, which furnishes not 
 only first-rate virtuosos for their own chapels, 
 but for which Europe in general ought to be 
 grateful. Sixt}^ pupils, twenty of whom are fe- 
 males, are instructed in the different branches 
 of instrumental and vocal music by twelve 
 teachers, who are salaried by the nobility. Of 
 
THE TECHNICAL ACADEMY. 
 
 73 
 
 the great musical talents which have been fos- 
 tered in this conservatorium, we name only Ma- 
 dame Sontag. 
 
 The Technical Academy, equally called into 
 existence by the nobility, and supported entirely 
 by them, was our next visit : its director is the 
 Chevalier Gerstner, a gentleman whose mathe- 
 matical eminence is respected throughout Europe. 
 The furnaces of Genitz, and Horshowitz, and 
 Purglitz, the road to Carlsbad, and several other 
 buildings, are his works. (^) He has under him 
 four professors. The number of pupils amounts 
 to 150. They are here taught mathematics in all 
 its branches. The Museum of Prague is an 
 interesting collection of Bohemian and Slavonian 
 antiquity. Besides manuscripts, works of sculp- 
 ture and of the pencil, there are offensive and 
 defensive weapons, bucklers, swords of an im- 
 mense size, one of the shoes of Premist, the 
 first Duke of Bohemia, the Fauna of this coun- 
 try, with a number of other curiosities. The 
 saloon, where the works of the ancient Bohe- 
 mian literature are deposited, is the most interest- 
 ing. They had in the fourteenth century their 
 historians, civilians, lawyers, divines, and poets, of 
 
74 
 
 BOHEMIAN PAINTERS. 
 
 whom we know little or nothing, and who might 
 spread over this dark age a light of which we never 
 dreamed. But they are chained down : their pub- 
 lication is prohibited, and as they are mostly wri- 
 ters in the Bohemian language, they may be con- 
 sidered as dead treasures. Among the Bohemian 
 painters, Raphael, Mengs, Siretta, and Brand|, 
 rank high. A Salvator and a Joseph by Siretta, 
 are particularly remarkable for their colouring 
 and truth of expression. There is a Saviour by 
 Brandt painted with the finger. Seen closely, this 
 picture presents a chaos of colours laid on finger- 
 thick, not unlike the daubing of a child. From 
 a distance of six yards, however, it melts into one 
 of the diviiiest and noblest ideals of Our Lord. 
 The liberality with which the nobility founded 
 this monument of national arts and sciences, and 
 contributed towards it from their own galleries, 
 armories, and libraries, shows plainly that na- 
 tional feeling and honour are far from being ex- 
 tinct. They collected with great expense, since the 
 foundation of this museum in 1818, the remains of 
 past grandeur from the remotest corners of Europe, 
 from Sweden and Russia; and though they are 
 not yet allowed to make any use of them, still 
 
UNIVERSITY OF PRAGUE. 75 
 
 they seem to look forward to a more favourable 
 period. 
 
 Of the 30,000 students who are said to have 
 crowded, in the times of Charles the Fourth and 
 his successors, the saloons of the renowned univer- 
 sity at Prague, but 1000 remain. (9) These are 
 trained according to the pleasure of his Imperial 
 Majesty, as expressed when the professors were 
 admitted into his Imperial presence, in 1825. " I 
 will have my subjects learn all those things that 
 are useful in common life, and likely to keep them 
 attached to our person and to their religion. I 
 don't want teachers who fill the heads of' my stu- 
 dents with that nonsense which turns the brains of 
 so many youths in our days."" The only scientific 
 branch allowed a free range is medicine. The 
 others, in 182J2, received a warning which will cut 
 off all redundant study during the Emperor's life. 
 Of the members of this university, the Professor 
 of Philosophy Bolj^ano was universally admitted 
 to be one of the very first. Several works which 
 he published, showed him to be a very liberal and 
 eminent thinker. This gentleman was suddenly 
 arrested, his writings seized, himself placed before 
 
76 
 
 AUSTRIAN TYRANNY. 
 
 an ecclesiastical tribunal, at the head of which was 
 the archbishop, to answer the charge of hetero- 
 doxy. The poor archbishop, a good, kind-hearted, 
 simple old man, universally beloved, was, one may 
 suppose, not a little puzzled to manage this dog- 
 matical trial, out of whose labyrinth of nonsense 
 the Pope, with all his infallibility, would not have 
 extricated himself: he succeeded, however, in clear- 
 ing the doctor of the crime of heterodoxy ; but all 
 his endeavours, together with those of the nobility, 
 to obtain his re-admission to the philosophical chair 
 were unsuccessful. ''Let me alone,^' said the Em- 
 peror, when the P ss L y interceded on his 
 
 behalf. " He has dangerous, extravagant princi- 
 ples."" One of his disciples, a director of the theo- 
 logical seminary in Leitmeritz, went a step farther, 
 and asserted, as was said, in one of his lectures, that 
 those doctrines, which are incompatible with hu- 
 man reason, cannot be founded on divine precepts. 
 This daring speech resounded in Vienna, and a 
 few weeks afterwards the confessor of his Majesty, 
 M. Friut, arrived with two commissaries from 
 Vienna, arrested the poor director, and carried 
 him under escort to Vienna, where he was impri- 
 soned with the Ligorians. The bishop, under 
 whose eyes this rie plus ultra of infidelity took 
 
THE UNIVERSITY OF PRAGUE. 
 
 77 
 
 place, was deprived of his see, and sent into a 
 capuchin monastery. These three examples have 
 proved effectual in curing the spirit of the Bohe- 
 mian literati, and they are now plodding on ac- 
 cording to the manner prescribed. 
 
 As the system of studies, as it is called, is 
 throughout the Austrian empircj the same, it may 
 not be superfluous to give a si,iccinct idea of it. 
 There are, besides the university, three Lyceums, 
 or colleges, and twenty-five Gymnasiums, or Latin 
 schools, in Bohemia. The university has, be- 
 sides, a rector magnificus, whose office however is 
 a mere title, and who is chosen annually with four 
 directors, two of which, the directors of philoso- 
 phy and of divinity, are clergymen. The direc- 
 tor of the Gymnasiums and of the Lyceums, is 
 also a priest. They are under the control of 
 a counsellor of the Government, to whom they 
 make their reports. The elementary schools are 
 equally under the supreme direction of a clergy- 
 man, who is in the same manner answerable to the 
 Government. (^^) Private teaching is not allowed. 
 The youth, after having run through the elemen- 
 tary schools, passes into the Latin schools, or 
 Gymnasiums ; in which he is instructed for the 
 
78 
 
 SYSTEM OF STUDIES 
 
 ensuing four years, in the Latin language and in 
 religion ; the two following years he reads extracts 
 from Latin authors, and the elements of the Greek 
 language ; two hours in the week are allotted to 
 religion, mathematics, geography, and history. 
 Each Gymnasium has one prefect, six professors, 
 and a teacher of religion. In six years the youth 
 has completed his gymnastic studies, and is ad- 
 vanced to the university. There he hears, for the 
 first year, extracts of philosophy, religion, history^ 
 mathematics, the elements of the Greek language ; 
 again, in the second year, the same, with the excep- 
 tion of mathematics, for which physic and astrono- 
 my are substituted. In the third year, he reads 
 the history of the German Empire, and aesthetics. 
 The students are not allowed to choose for 
 themselves ; the professors or lecturers are all 
 obliged to pursue the same course. These three 
 years being passed, the youth chooses either law, 
 divinity, or medicine. In the former two courses, 
 he continues his studies four, in the latter five 
 years. The whole course of studies takes thus 
 thirteen, and in medicine, fourteen years. The 
 school-books for all these different classes, except 
 medicine, are compiled in Vienna, under the su- 
 perintendance of tbe Aulic commission of studies. 
 
PURSUED IN THE UNIVERSITY OF PRAGUE. 79 
 
 They are subject to such alterations as a new 
 created counsellor of the court thinks fit to sug- 
 gest, according to his own or his Emperor's no- 
 tions. These school-books are the most barren 
 and stupid extracts which ever left the printing 
 press. The professors are bound, under penalty 
 of losing their places, to adhere literally to these 
 skeletons. 
 
 At Easter, and towards the close of August, the 
 youth is examined : if his answers prove satis- 
 factory, he is admitted at the beginning of the 
 next year into a higher class ; if otherwise, he is 
 detained till he knows by heart his lesson, and 
 then advanced. A young man who has gone 
 through the academical course of these studies, 
 knows a little of every thing, but on the whole 
 nothing. He has regularly forgotten in the suc- 
 ceeding course, what he had learned by heart in 
 the preceding. A free exercise of the mental pow- 
 ers, a literary range is absolutely impossible ; nay, 
 against the instructions of the professors. The 
 youth, during the time of his studies, is watched 
 with the closest attention. His professors are ex- 
 officio spies. Six times in the year he has to 
 confess himself to his teachers of religion! — His 
 
80 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY OF PRAGUE. 
 
 predilections, inclinations, his good and bad quali- 
 ties, every movement is observed and registered in 
 their catalogues ; one of which is sent to Vienna, 
 the other to the Government, the third deposit- 
 ed in the school archives. This observation in- 
 creases as the 3'outh advances into the higher 
 classes, and a strict vigilance is paid to his read- 
 ing ; trials are made with classic authors, his opi- 
 nion is elicited about characters such as Brutus, 
 Cato, and the account thereof faithfully inserted. 
 If the youth applies to law, the scrutiny becomes 
 still more vigorous, and his principles about the 
 natural rights of man and of government are ex- 
 torted under a thousand shapes and pretences. 
 
 The youth, having finished his academical 
 course, whether he be a lawyer, or a divine, is 
 entirely in the hands of the Government. His 
 past life and conduct serve his superiors as a 
 guide. Has he given the least cause of suspicion, 
 shown the least penchant towards liberal ideas ? 
 then he may be sure that the higher his talents, 
 the less his capacity to serve his Emperor, or to 
 obtain a license as an attorney. Should he ap- 
 ply to the Government for a non-commissioned 
 office, his immediate superiors become again his 
 
AUSTRIAN TYRANNY. 
 
 81 
 
 watchmen. An unguarded word is sufficient not 
 only to preclude his advancement, but to deprive 
 him even of his station. He cannot expect indul- 
 gence or forbearance on the part of his superiors ; 
 it would be looked upon as a connivance, and if 
 repeated, deprive them of their places. 
 
 There are, in every department among the 
 counsellors or assessors, at least two spies, who 
 correspond regularly with the President of the 
 supreme Police at Vienna, or with the Emperor 
 himself. Two months before my arrival, the 
 most distinguished Counsellor of the Government 
 expressed his opinion, in the sittings of this tribu- 
 nial, which isheaded by the Chief of the kingdom, 
 the Supreme Burggrave, respecting a question 
 about duties on imported produce. He availed 
 himself of this opportunity to give a comprehen- 
 sive and clear statem.ent of the system in all its 
 bearings, saying, that the present system was not 
 in accordance with the state of manufactures. He 
 was speaking this at the same time that his pre- 
 ferment to the supreme financial department, as 
 Aulic Counsellor, wanted only the signature of the 
 Emperor, after having been recommended by the 
 financial department, and approved by the State 
 
82 INEFFICIENCV^ OF THE 
 
 Council. What was the astonishment of this 
 counsellor, when, eight days afterwards, the ap- 
 pointment of the youngest counsellor of the go- 
 vernment arrived from Vienna, signed by the 
 Emperor, who wrote with his own hand that a 
 man who looked more at the spirit of the time, 
 than at the expressed will of his monarch, could 
 not be a fit subject for a counsellor of the court, 
 and that his Majesty did not want reasoners, but 
 faithful servants. There is no aulic counsellor 
 of the Department of Justice, who would dare to 
 ask his colleague of the financial branch respect- 
 ing the measures of his department ; it would be 
 looked upon as a temptation, or as an interference 
 with objects in which he has not, and should not 
 take any concern, though it may be that, in a fort- 
 night, he is appointed to the very committee or de- 
 partment, of the measures of which, to inform him- 
 self beforehand, would be considered as presump- 
 tuous and dangerous. When Count O'Donnel, 
 Minister of Finances, died, the Emperor, then at 
 Prague, looked round for a successor, and the 
 then Supreme Burggrave, Count Wallis, was call- 
 ed before him. " Count," he was accosted, " I 
 am going to reward you for your faithful services. 
 O'Donnel is dead, I have designated you for his 
 
 9 
 
AUSTRIAN MINISTERS, &C. 
 
 83 
 
 successor." — " Your Majesty," replied the Count, 
 " will most graciously condescend to consider 
 that I am entirely ignorant in this department, 
 as I have never paid the least attention to it." 
 — " That is what I want ; never mind, you will 
 learn it," resumed the Emperor ; " every one to 
 his business. You were a faithful Supreme Burg- 
 grave, you will be a no less faithful Finance Mi- 
 nister."" The consequence was, as might be ex- 
 pected, a bankruptcy, which, in the financial 
 history, will be recorded as disgraceful as the 
 battle of Ulm, which was owing to nearly the 
 same cause. These explanations will fully ac- 
 count for the painful ignorance, servility, and nar- 
 rowness of conception of the Austrian officers, 
 both civil and mihtary. Out of a thousand secre- 
 taries, counsellors, and assessors, who have run 
 through the whole course of studies, you will 
 not find fifty who can give you an explanation 
 of the financial state of the Empire. Out of a 
 thousand Austrian captains, there will not be 
 fifty who have the least idea of tactics, except those 
 of the artillery and engineers. These gentlemen 
 advance colonels, generals, field- marshals, lieute- 
 nants, not by dint of military prowess or know- 
 ledge, but according to the rule of seniority ; 
 
84 
 
 AliSMllAN ESPIONAGE. 
 
 while the others, plodding on in the same way, 
 become counsellors of the court, of the state, 
 and the managers of the household of the Em- 
 peror. Thus, while we see poor countries like 
 Saxony and Prussia prospering, paying off their 
 debts, and establishing a firm national credit ; 
 their armies, with a soldiery far inferior to the 
 Austrian in discipline and military prowess, 
 fighting their battles successfully : the Austrian 
 Empire with its immense resources, is impoverish- 
 ed, every day more and more, through the igno- 
 rance of their financial men ; and, owing to the 
 same cause, their armies are beaten and captured 
 like so many herds of cattle, through the supine 
 idiotism of their commandeis. 
 
 There are several omens which have induced his 
 Imperial Majesty to direct his attention not only 
 to his officers, whom he considers less as public ser- 
 vants than as his own, but to the inhabitants ge- 
 nerally. In a country where the lower classes are 
 servile and ignorant, the feeling of honour, of 
 course, very precarious, it requires little pains for 
 the agents of the police to induce servants to betray 
 tlieir masters. For every information the former 
 carry to the police, they obtain one or two ducats. 
 
AUSTRIAN ESPIONAGE. 
 
 85 
 
 During my stay, a merchant gave a dinner to 
 several of his friends. The conversation turned 
 on the new loan. Every one gave his opinion, 
 which was unfavourable to the measure. Next 
 day he was called before the Chief of the Police, 
 to account for the language used at his party. 
 The merchant pleaded his right to discuss public 
 pecuniary affairs : but he was answered, that it 
 was no business of his, as he was not a banker ; 
 and that a repetition of such disrespectful lan- 
 guage would be punished with imprisonment ! 
 
 The merchant returned home and instantly dis- 
 missed his servants, being convinced of their having 
 betrayed him. He is again summoned to answer 
 the cause of the dismissal of his servants. Again 
 he pleads his right to do as he pleases; and the 
 Director and Chief of the Police, an Imperial 
 Counsellor of the Government, holding the rank 
 of a Colonel, and a Knight of an Order, has the 
 impudence to assure him upon his honour, that 
 he did not get his information from the servants ! 
 It is impossible to form an adequate idea of the 
 ramifications of this product of a bad public con- 
 science. Every footman in a public-house is a sa- 
 laried spy: there are spies paid to visit the taverns 
 
86 
 
 AUSTRIAN ESPIONAGE. 
 
 and hotels, who take their dinners at the table 
 d'hote. Others will be seen in the Imperial li- 
 brar}^ for the same purpose, or in the bookseller''s 
 shop, to inquire into the purchases made by the 
 different persons. Of course, letters sent and 
 received by the post, if the least suspicious, are 
 opened ; and so little pains are taken to conceal 
 this violation of public faith, that the seal of 
 the post-office is not seldom added to that of the 
 writer. These odious measures are not exe- 
 cuted with that Jinesse which characterises the 
 French, nor with the military rudeness of the 
 Prussian, but in that silly and despicable way of 
 the Austrian, who, as he is the most awkward per- 
 sonage for this most infamous of all commissions, 
 takes, notwithstanding, a sort of pride in being 
 an Imperial instrument and a person of import- 
 ance. One characteristic feature of this Govern- 
 ment is particularly striking : its persecution 
 turns less against foreigners than the people 
 who communicate with them. They and their 
 families are exposed to every sort of chicanery ; 
 and for this reason, it is almost impossible to 
 associate, if we except noblemen, with the better 
 classes, all of them dreading the crafty severity 
 of their suspicious Government. 
 
PUBLIC PRESS OF BOHEMIA. 
 
 87 
 
 Without introduction into the circles of the 
 nobility, it would be, indeed, impossible for a 
 man of even the most moderate pretensions, to 
 stay in this city for a week, every enjoyment 
 being poisoned by the baneful influence of the 
 secret police. The middle class of its inhabitants 
 are a sober, well-informed, and respectable set, 
 far above the sensuality of the Viennese ; though 
 the Government does not allow even those scanty 
 means of public information which the latter pos- 
 sess. In Prague there is but one, and this the 
 poorest newspaper imaginable, under the imme- 
 diate control of the Supreme Burggrave. Another 
 public paper in the Bohemian language had hardly 
 made its appearance with the consent of the Go- 
 vernment, when it was suppressed by an order 
 from Vienna. 
 
 Taken in the whole, Prague is one of the most 
 picturesque and noble cities on the Continent ; 
 far more interesting than Berlin, or any other 
 capital of Germany. What, however, entitles this 
 city to our attention, are the immense historical 
 treasures which it possesses respecting the origin 
 of their own and of their kindred nations, the 
 Russians and Poles. An universal history, with- 
 
88 LITERARY TREASURES OF BOHEMIA, 
 
 out a peregrination to the shelves of ancient Ma- 
 robudum, will certainly be, with respect to the 
 Slavonian nations, but very imperfect. The line 
 of demarcation which, notwithstanding an allegi- 
 ance of three centuries to the House of Austria, 
 still separates this people from the Austrians, is 
 no way astonishing ; and a Hampden, or, to speak 
 in their own language, a Zisha, in the present 
 gloom, would scarcely fail to find at least a mil- 
 lion of adherents. 
 
ENVIRONS OV PRAGUE. 
 
 89 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Tour from Prague through Moravia and Austria.— -The 
 Empire of Great Moravia, Austria. — Vineyards. — Vil- 
 lages. — Inhabitants, their condition.*— Church wakes.— 
 Austrian Abbeys.— Hierarchy. — Pliability of the Clergy. 
 —Rodolph of Hapsburg and his successors. 
 
 The road from Prague through Moravia and 
 Austria boasts very little interest. A well-culti- 
 vated country, a village, or a small town every five 
 or ten miles, with a dirty tavern, and still dirtier 
 bed-rooms, and some country residences of noble- 
 men, inferior, however, to those between Prague 
 and Toplitz, are the only cursory objects. Thirtv- 
 five miles from Prague, the heights of Collin 
 present themselves, where Frederic the Great lost 
 a battle and the glory of invincibility. We pass- 
 ed ten miles farther through Czasiau, and about 
 
90 FALL OF THE LAST KING OF MORAVIA. 
 
 eighty -five miles south from Prague, over the fron- 
 tiers of Bohemia, marked by a pyramid with a lion 
 carved in relief, facing Bohemia, and an erect eagle 
 turned towards Moravia. Of the powerful empire 
 of Great Moravia, whose kings swayed a territory 
 stretching from the Danube to the Gulph of Fin- 
 land, the name only remains. The last king of 
 this monarchy, Zwertibold, was vanquished by the 
 German Emperor Arnulph, his monarchy divided, 
 and part of it annexed to Bohemia, under the 
 name of Moravia. The unhappy monarch himself 
 was obliged to exchange his sceptre for the staff; 
 and his very residence, Wellehrad, was turned into 
 a monastery, of which he became the first abbot. 
 Though Moravia has been separated from Bohemia 
 since its acquisition by Austria, and erected into 
 a distinct government, yet its manners, language, 
 and dress, all bespeak a people intimately blended 
 with the Bohemians. The state of the peasantry, 
 and of the nobility, is entirely the same with those of 
 Bohemia ; there is, as in this kingdom, a Diet enjoy- 
 ing the same form, the same privileges, and equally 
 devoid of substance. The first place which we en- 
 tered is Fylau, a handsome town, with 10,000 in- 
 habitants, and extensive wool manufactures. The 
 country round Fylau is cold and dreary : forty-five 
 
CHARACTER OF THE MORAVIANS. 
 
 91 
 
 miles south is Zuayra, the last point where the 
 Bohemian language is spoken. There is something 
 tenacious in this people which exceeds belief. 
 The northern suburbs of this town keep still to 
 their Bohemian tongue, as they did three hundred 
 years ago ; while in the southern part, I was told 
 that scarcely a person could be found to understand 
 it. In the same proportion the character of the 
 e chantjes. Not a trace is to be found of the 
 
 CD 
 
 dark gloomy character of the Bohemian, approach- 
 ing to misanthropy. There is no transition, no 
 blending between the two nations; they are sepa- 
 rated like Germans and French, and a union of 
 three hundred years cannot stifle this antipathy, 
 nor bring them to forget the nicknames vvith which 
 they honour each other. 
 
 The distance from Zuayra to Vienna is thirty 
 miles on the Imperial road. The more interesting 
 road is, however, through Ratz, Kremsk, and 
 Potten. We took the latter. The country from 
 Zuayra westward is almost an uninterrupted vine- 
 yard, softly rising and descending on the eminences, 
 and now and then interrupted by an orchard or by 
 wheat-fields in the lower grounds. There is a calm, 
 an hilarity spread over the whole, which is reflected 
 
 peopl 
 
92 
 
 AUSTRIAN VILLAGE. 
 
 in the laughing countenances of the lads and maids 
 employed in stripping the vines of their superfluous 
 branches and leaves, to hasten the ripening of the 
 grapes. Many as we met, all of them offered us 
 grapes. As the forerunners of the villages are al- 
 ways the same wine-cellars, at the distance of fifty 
 yards. They are dug into the ground, and ge- 
 nerally vaulted. The entrance to them is through 
 a stone building, containing the wine-press, and 
 a room or two for the entertainment of the pro- 
 prietor and wine-buyers. \¥aggons loading for 
 Vienna, Bohemia, or Moravia, are waiting before 
 the doors, and, as this trade cannot be carried 
 on without frequent libations, we were sure of 
 being invited at every such stand to share in them. 
 These cellars, from forty to fifty in number, are 
 each overshadowed by walnut trees, which guard 
 the entrance ; two banks and a table are commonly 
 raised under them. The villages themselves be- 
 speak a serenity and a wealth which you will not 
 find elsewhere throughout the Continent. A brook 
 is a necessary ingredient to an Austrian village ; its 
 banks are lined with willows, horse-chesnuts, and 
 walnuts. At some distance the houses run down 
 in long rows. A thatched roof is as great a 
 rarity as a tavern. The inhabitants being cuUi- 
 
AUSTRIAN VILLAGE. 
 
 93 
 
 vators of the grape, prefer to take a glass, or 
 rather a flaggon, at home. The houses are from 
 one to two stories high, covered with tiles, and 
 provided with green shutters. On both sides, 
 before the house, are small gardens with green 
 or yellow painted railings, through which the 
 passage to tlie house-door is left open. You en- 
 ter through a wicket which is in the large door. 
 The first room is the visit-room ; it is generally 
 painted, and furnished with an elegant stove, 
 two bureaus, half a dozen chairs, and a sofa. In 
 the midst is a large table covered with a Tyro- 
 lian carpet, on which two flaggons and a num- 
 ber of tumblers are placed. The other rooms 
 are furnished in a less sumptuous, but clean 
 and substantial manner. Round the green stove, 
 and the white shining walks, runs a row of open 
 benches ; round the ceiling, large wine glasses are 
 seen hanging, in which the journeymen receive 
 their daily portion of wine. Some pictures 
 of saints, or an engraving of Maria Theresa, 
 Joseph, or Francis, decorate the walls. This 
 latter is indeed their prototype in every thing. 
 They consider him exactly in the light of a fa- 
 ther, or rather a guardian, wliom they may ap- 
 proach at any time, and to whom they submit in 
 
94 HOSPITALITY OF AN AUSTRIAN FAIIMEK. 
 
 every thing. Their characters tally so exact- 
 ly with that of the Emperor, that from this 
 affinity of thinking there cannot but exist the 
 greatest harmony between the Austrian and his 
 Emperor. 
 
 We had passed a dozen of these beautiful 
 villages, each vying with one another in ele- 
 gance and beauty, and were just going to enter 
 the last, which lay on the road to the small 
 but beautiful town of Rotz, where we intended 
 to stay ; when, as we lagged after our carriage, 
 an elderly farmer plodding behind us for a while, 
 at last took heart to speak and ask us whither 
 we were bound. Being satisfied on the point, he 
 forced us almost to spend a night under his roof. 
 We had hardly entered the house, when the 
 landlady came with two flaggons, one filled with 
 wine, the other with water, to drink the welcome. 
 The time till supper was spent, according to the 
 fashion of the country, in drinking and talking. 
 
 Our landlord, an honest and wealthy wine culti- 
 vator of Rotzbach, had a lawsuit against the lord 
 of the domain, respecting a ward, to whom the 
 former was guardian. Determined not to have 
 
CHARACTER OF THE AUSTRIAN FARMER. 95 
 
 the suit procrastinated, he went forthwith to see 
 the Emperor Francis. He was of course received, 
 and stated his case. " Have you got the cogni- 
 zance ?" demanded the Emperor. — Yes, I have," 
 repKed the farmer. — " Then 1 will tell you 
 what,'' resumed the Emperor ; " you had better 
 
 go to the Aulic Counsellor S z, and let him 
 
 see it."" — " But would it not be better," said the 
 frank Austrian, "if your Majesty would com- 
 mand M. Schwarzin to do it — " No, my 
 child," said the Emperor, ''you don't understand; 
 that business must have its way ; I cannot do 
 any thing beforehand ; go, go, and you will 
 hear what he says, and then come and tell me." 
 He went accordingly to the Counsellor S — — z, 
 who answered, that he could not do any thing 
 before matters were brought to him in the re- 
 gular course of business. Again he returned to 
 the Emperor, who with the same patience ex- 
 horted him to wait, and that he would himself 
 take care and expedite it. The farmer then re- 
 turned home, and in six weeks his law-suit was 
 decided in his favour. 
 
 The Austrian farmer is a kind-hearted, good- 
 humoured being, with a great deal of openness and 
 
90 CKAKACTER OF THE AUSTP.IAX FARMER. 
 
 honesty ; which latter two quahties, however, are 
 said to have lost their former value, hy the state 
 bankruptcies, the examples of bad faith given 
 them by their Emperor, and the secret police. He 
 is more wealthy than his Bohemian or Polish fel- 
 low-subjects, and is in fact a freeholder, as bockage 
 and menial offices have been redeemed througliout 
 x\ustria from the noblemen, with the connivance 
 of the Government, by a certain sum of money. 
 Nothing exceeds his hospitality ; and whoever 
 comes is not only welcome, but almost killed 
 with kindness. The Germans are noted for their 
 insatiable thirst. In Austria, the number of 
 emptied flaggons is a^stonishing; but notwith- 
 standing a true Austrian farmer, as we often 
 convinced ourselves, will wash down a sort of pigs- 
 meat, with horse radish, with one, or even two- 
 flaggons, holding two gallons of wine, he is seldom 
 seen drunk. Custom, and the quality of the 
 wine itself, which is of a light sort, similar to the 
 Rhenish wine, only rather more acid, explain this. 
 In order to keep tliemselves in constant appetite, 
 they advance with every flaggon they take, from 
 the inferior to the better sorts ; as there are 
 thousands who have a stock of more than 1000 
 hogsheads in their cellars, from the 3/ear 1811, down 
 
FESTIVAL OF THE CHURCHWAKE. 97 
 
 to 1826. They complain sadly of the French, 
 who emptied their cellars from the vintages of 
 1783 and 1794; and as it is the highest gratifica- 
 tion of their pride to show their wealth in this 
 manner, one may easily imagine the quantity of 
 wine consumed during their fetes. The principal 
 one is the churchwake. 
 
 Nothing can exceed the jollity and gaiety of a 
 churchwake in Austria Proper. They are kept 
 every year, on two successive Sundays, in every 
 village. The preparations for the fete are made 
 the week preceding it, by the united efforts of the 
 young single men. The largest tree from the next 
 forest is chosen, stripped of its bark, planed, and 
 surmounted with the crown of a fir tree, bearing 
 the emblems of country life ; apples, bottles filled 
 with wine, ribbons, and garlands. This tree is 
 raised in the centre of a pavilion, or rather a 
 bower, covered with branches, and hung over with 
 festoons of every colour. Each farmer invites his 
 friends of the neighbouring villages. After grand 
 mass is over, the dinner is served, consisting of at 
 least twenty different dishes. At three o'clock, 
 after the second divine service, the lads make 
 their appearance, dressed very elegantly, and re- 
 
 H 
 
98 
 
 FESTIVAL OF THE OHURCHWAKE. 
 
 pair in a body to the different farm-houses where 
 the maidens are. These are conducted in pro- 
 cession to the dancing-place, the before-mentioned 
 bovver. The orchestra consists of an exquisite band 
 of from ten to fifteen musicians, who regularly 
 attend these festivals. Among their instruments 
 are two lyres, but no violin, which give to the mu- 
 sic an exquisite air of country life. There is nothing 
 which equals the waltzes of these people. The 
 most prejudiced enemy to this dance cannot help 
 being delighted with the simplicity and true charm 
 which these dancers display in every turn, with- 
 out having ever been under the modelling hand 
 and snuffling command of a French dancing-mas- 
 ter. One might look for hours with interest at 
 the hearty delight with which they enjoy this an- 
 cient f^te. If distinguished persons are present, 
 they are requested to open the ball, a thing which 
 is always complied with. At sunset lamps are 
 lighted, and the dance continues until eleven 
 oVlock. The maidens are again conducted home 
 in the same manner, and each is delivered into the 
 hands of her parents. It was at the castle and 
 
 domain of G- — -k, the property of C — t F s, 
 
 where we witnessed one of these fetes. The fa- 
 mily of the Count had partaken for half an hour 
 
SERENADE. 
 
 99 
 
 in the popular rejoicing. For tliis honour the 
 young people brought them a serenade. 
 
 The castle of G k is situated on one of the 
 
 romantic cliffs of the Danube, twenty-five miles 
 above the dreaded Lanenstande, commanding on one 
 side the mighty river, and on the other the beau- 
 tiful valley with its village. The rocky ground 
 between this and the castle is occupied by a park, 
 from whose clumps of oaks and birches you see 
 peeping out rocks overgrown with moss, which 
 invest the scenery with an inexpressible air of 
 romantic beauty. It w^as in this park, in the midst 
 of precipices and natural grottoes, the youths and 
 musicians performed the serenade. Of the pieces 
 sung and played, there was none more charming 
 than the beautiful Tyrolese air, " Wenn ich mor- 
 gens frii aufstehe," sung by about forty young 
 men, scattered all over the park. The manly 
 voices of the singers, re-echoing from the sur- 
 rounding cliffs and mountains, the numerous 
 lights, and the grandeur of the scenery, all con- 
 tributed to make it one of the most delicious en- 
 joyments. It is singular that this people, certainly 
 one of the best and most kind-hearted on the face 
 of the earth, though endowed with a rather strong 
 H 2 
 
100 
 
 NATURAL CHARACTER. 
 
 penchant towards that sort of sensuality which 
 dehghts in eating and drinking, is so generally 
 hated. There are, however, two reasons : one is 
 their blind obedience towards their sovereign, which 
 makes them, as soon as they become connected 
 in any way with the Government, exceed even 
 their instructions, in order to please their sove- 
 reign. They are detested neither for their vices, 
 nor for the vi^rongs they have inflicted, but for the 
 awkward and stolid manner in which they execute 
 the orders of their masters. Again, the Austrian 
 has not the least national pride, nor any of the virtues 
 which spring from this feature. This very circum- 
 stance, so excellent in keeping together the ties of 
 the different twenty races and nations who compose 
 the Austrian Empire, and making them less sensible 
 of the prerogative which the Austrian enjoys, has 
 on the other hand caused that contempt towards ^ 
 people which has so few shining qualities. Almost 
 any nation would think it a disgrace to submit to 
 an Austrian whose plain manners and unseason- 
 able familiarity make him an object of scorn, even 
 when victorious in a foreign province. 
 
 From St. Poten, an ancient town, with an epis- 
 copal see, the country towards Vienna assumes a 
 
ABBEY OF KLOSTEll^^EUBURG. lOl 
 
 grand aspect. Thousands of isolated farms, buried, 
 as it were, under forests of fruit-trees, cover the 
 valleys, while the hills are clad with the most 
 luxuriant vines. On the left you have the lordly 
 Danube, with its mountains overgrown with fo- 
 rests; to the right the lofty mountains of Styria. 
 Several abbeys here attract your attention, and give 
 a great idea of the wealth of the Austrian clergy. 
 We visited the most celebrated of them, Loems- 
 munster and Klosterneuburg. The first is rather 
 an accumulation of palaces, built in the demi-Ita- 
 lian demi-French style. The abbey is obliged to 
 keep a seminary for the education of the youth ; 
 the library, gallery of paintings, and the apart- 
 ments of the abbot and the Imperial family, are 
 in the first style. The most interesting is Klos- 
 terneuburg, about seven miles above Vienna, on 
 the Jeft bank of the Danube, in a most delight- 
 ful situation. This magnificent abbey consists 
 of the church in the centre, and two wings con- 
 nected with it by galleries. The one is destined 
 for the Imperial family, the other for the ab- 
 bot. Behind the palace of the abbot is the 
 convent of the monks. The depth of this edi- 
 fice corresponds exactly with its height ; its cel- 
 lars are three stories deep, the third and last 
 
102 
 
 ABBEY OF KLOSTERNEUBERG. 
 
 under the Danube. We saw a waggon and six, 
 loaded with barrels, entering and turning in this 
 immense cavity. 
 
 The quantity of wine here stored is not less 
 than 20,000 pipes, raised in part from their own 
 vineyards, and from tithes ; which latter, as the 
 librarian informed us, amounted to 10,000 pipes, 
 a revenue of about 10,000/. They are, however, 
 allowed but a small part of this income ; and 
 though they have the management of their econo- 
 mical affairs, yet they have to render an annual 
 account to the Government, and to refund the 
 surplus of this allowance. This allowance is, for 
 the abbot 2000 florins ; for each monk SOO. 
 Their number is limited, too, and they are bound 
 either to apply to the instruction of youth, or 
 to pastoral offices, for lifetime. They elect their 
 abbot in the presence of the Imperial Commissa- 
 ries, who invest him after the election with the 
 ring, the symbol of his temporal power. He is 
 subject, in his spiritual jurisdiction, to the bishop 
 of the diocese ; in his temporal affairs to the Go- 
 vernment. There are now comparatively but 
 few abbeys in Austria, and these are throughout 
 regulated on the same footing; those whose in- 
 
THE CLERGYo 
 
 103 
 
 habitants led a more contemplative life having 
 been abolished by the Emperor Joseph, and their 
 estates added to the religious fund, from which the 
 curates and the secular clergy are salaried. The 
 bishops are nominated by the Emperor, without 
 whose permission no bull of the Pope can be pub- 
 lished. They are not only subject to the Provin- 
 cial Governments, but even to the captains of the 
 districts in whose territories their dioceses are si- 
 tuated. The divine service in extraordinary cases 
 is regulated by the Government, as Te Deums, 
 processions, &c. The permission of the Captain of 
 the Circle, and if in the capital, that of the Go- 
 vernor, is required. The education of the theo- 
 logicians^ although in the hands of the bishops, is 
 controlled by Imperial Commissaries. The clergy 
 of the Austrian Empire is thus really stripped of 
 any injurious power, more effectually than in any 
 other country. Compared to the authority which 
 the Emperor of Austria exercises over his arch- 
 bishops, bishops, and the whole train of these 
 dignitaries, the rights of the Gallican church and 
 of the King of France are only trifles. The 
 means by which the reforms of the Emperor 
 Joseph were carried on consisted merely in a 
 title. 
 
104 
 
 THE CLERGY. 
 
 The Emperors of Austria, in their capacity 
 as Kings of Hungary, are born legates of the Ro- 
 man See. Of the privileges annexed to this digni- 
 ty, they availed themselves so effectually, that the 
 counsellor of the state for the religious department 
 in Austria, M. Lorenz, has indeed more power 
 than the archbishops and bishops,* with the Pope 
 of Rome altogether. The hierarchical manage- 
 ment of Austria, and its canonical laws, deserve se- 
 rious attention and deep study on the part of every 
 statesman. The manner in which the power of the 
 clergy is controlled deserves the highest praise. 
 
 As an instance of condescension in the Roman 
 Nuncio, in a country where, notwithstanding a 
 seeming compliance with its head, his Holiness the 
 Pope exercises no authority at all, I may mention 
 the recent conversion of Baron Kuorn, Coun- 
 sellor to the Court. A matrimonial affair brought 
 him over to the Catholic faith. As he was a cha- 
 racter of distinction, and rather of a philosophical 
 and sceptical turn of mind, his apostacy from 
 Protestantism was looked upon by the Catholic 
 clergy as a triumph, and the Roman Nuncio con- 
 
 * See Richberger. 
 
VIENNA. 
 
 105 
 
 descended so far as to sign certain exceptions, 
 which the Baron made before he entered the 
 bosom of the Catholic church. The first was. 
 Baron Kuorn could not invoke the saints — left 
 to his own discretion. II. His belief in pur- 
 gatory — he might do as he pleased. III. Baron 
 Kuorn could not hear every day a mass — he 
 would not have an objection to hear one on a 
 Sunday. IV. He could not confess himself: at 
 least he would please, if possible, to do it once 
 a year. The agreement was signed ; the Baron 
 went over, and married his bride. 
 
 We approached now, on the road from Klos- 
 terneuburg, the famous residence of the Austrian 
 dynasty, alternately the head-quarters of Roman 
 legions, of German Margraves, and of an Imperial 
 Court. Vienna, with its ramparts, which seem to 
 guard the city, and its vast suburbs which sur- 
 round it at the distance of six hundred yards, is 
 not unlike the Austrian Empire, whose vast king- 
 dom and provinces surround the small Archduke- 
 dom of Austria Proper. Its very palaces, its in- 
 tricate mazes, and its crooked, narrow, and wind- 
 ing streets, bear the character of tameness, and 
 of that shifting policy for which the reigning 
 
106 RUDOLPH, COUNT OF HAPS BURG. 
 
 family is so justly notorious, far more than that 
 of the different nations whose head this capital has 
 become. This Imperial family is a true specimen 
 how often the greatest events are the offspring of 
 small accidental causes. A Count of Switzerland 
 meets, during one of his sporting excursions, a 
 poor priest on his way to administer the sacra- 
 ment to a dying parishioner. His progress is 
 arrested by a brook, just at the moment when 
 the Count with his retinue arrives. Respectfully 
 he offers his own horse to the priest, humbly it 
 is accepted, and the next day returned. " God 
 forbid !" exclaims the Count to the messenger, 
 " I should ride a horse again which carried my 
 saviour : I bestow it on the church and the priest." 
 This poor priest becomes the chaplain and the 
 confidant of the Prince Elector of Mentz, and 
 his influence prevails on the first spiritual Prince 
 of Germany, to propose the pious horse-lender to 
 the assembled electors of this Empire. As his 
 military prowess promised to be useful at a time 
 when Germany was infested by numberless petty 
 waylaying knights, and his want of power gave 
 no reason for jealousy, he was accepted, and thus 
 Rudolph, Count of Hapsburg, became the first 
 though least powerftil monarch of Christendom. 
 
RISE OF THE 
 
 AUSTRIAN 
 
 EMPIRE. 
 
 107 
 
 Though a wealthy Count, he was a poor Prince ; 
 he had, however, a treasure in his daughters, 
 which he disposed of in that prudent way which 
 enabled him with the assistance of his princely 
 sons in law, to deprive Ottocar, the King of Bo- 
 hemia, of Austria. This dukedom had been 
 seized, after the decease of the last Duke of the 
 house of Babensberg, by Ottocar, and was in vain 
 re-demanded by -Rudolph. Ottocar was twice 
 defeated ; and his death on the field of battle 
 secured the family of Hapsburg in that first 
 possession, the Archdukedom of Austria. His 
 successors pursued the same prudent and marry- 
 ing way, and acquired by these means the king- 
 doms of Bohemia, Hungary, a number of smaller 
 provinces, and finally the vast Spanish monarchy, 
 till Charles the Fifth, the most powerful monarch 
 of Europe, dared to aspire, three hundred years 
 afterwards, to universal monarchy. Without a 
 distinguished character, without even the love 
 of those nations, and in spite of continual re- 
 volts, this family not only extricated itself from 
 imminent dangers, but rose from its frequent 
 downfalls more powerful than before. While we 
 see the foundations of other empires shaken where 
 sovereign and people are intimately blended, and 
 
108 RISE OF THE AUSTIIIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 liberal ideas are spreading every day, there is in 
 this vast monarchy, till the present time, scarcely a 
 movement perceptible towards emancipation, which 
 none of the nations under this government seem to 
 require. Where the greatest genius would have 
 failed, the monarchs of Austria have succeeded by 
 the very want of genius ; and by merely resorting 
 to such common means as lie nearer to the level 
 of common understandings, are neither visionary 
 nor fantastic, and therefore seldom fail in their in- 
 tended success. 
 
VIEW OF VIENNA. 
 
 109 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 View of Vienna. — Suburbs. — Glacis. — Imperial Castle. — 
 Imperial Apartmnts . — Guards. — The Emperor. 
 
 The approach to Vienna, from this side, is -^^^ 
 truly grand. On the left side, the vast Danube, 
 on the right, the superb Shoenbrunn, and before 
 your eyes the Imperial city ; from the midst of 
 which the venerable dome and spire of St. Ste- 
 phen rises, guarded, as it were, by the proud 
 double eagle. You pass the lines, which sur- 
 round all the suburbs. 
 
 The houses are generally two stories high, and 
 with the gardens, their white, yellow, or green 
 painted walls, nearly resemble English country 
 mansions. They increase, as you advance towards 
 the city, to three stories, and terminate in a huge 
 
110 
 
 VIEW OF VIENNA. 
 
 palace, or a church, which fronts the city. Between 
 this and the suburbs which surround it, at the dis- 
 tance of about six hundred yards, numerous alleys 
 convey you to any of the twelve gates, only eight, 
 however, of which are open. You enter the Burg- 
 thor, whose adjoining ramparts, dismantled by Na- 
 poleon's orders, have been laid out in gardens. 
 
 There is not in Vienna, as in Paris, the leading 
 hand of a great genius visible, whose architectural 
 beauties are placed with a discerning taste, so as 
 to produce a fine effect. 
 
 The Imperial Burg, tainted with the grey hue 
 of age, contrasts strangely with the splendid and 
 modern apartments of the Imperial Chancelerie; but 
 it convinces you at once of that imperial pride 
 which prefers a stately ancient residence to a more 
 splendid modern one. The interior is magnificent, 
 and the pomp and taste of nearly six centuries 
 are here blended in the different dresses and exhi- 
 bitions of this splendid court. A guard of grena- 
 diers on the left hand, with four mounted cannons, 
 show you that you are before the entrance of the 
 Emperor's apartments. A double flight of stairs 
 leads hence to a noble staircase from this to the first 
 
IMPERIAL GUARDS. 
 
 Ill 
 
 guard-room, occupied by the German and Hun- 
 garian guards; the former dressed as Austrian 
 majors of the infantry, in white coats, with red 
 cuffs and collars, three-cornered hats trimmed 
 with gold lace. The Hungarian is the Hussar 
 dress, with their tiger-skin kalpaks glittering with 
 gold and embroidery, without doubt the most 
 splendid guard in the world. Their number is 
 fifty, all of them Hungarian noblemen, who bear 
 the rank of premier lieutenants. Their captain is 
 Prince Esterhazy. From this dazzling apartment 
 you enter into that of a sort of Pensionaires, dress- 
 ed in yellow and black mixture, of the old Spanish 
 and German costume. From this you go into 
 the common Saal, or audience-room. The next 
 apartment is that of the Imperial pages, dressed in 
 red and silver. A few steps farther will bring you 
 to the apartment of the Chamberlains, two of 
 whom are always in waiting: they are distin- 
 guished by a gold bullion on their back and a gol- 
 den key. Of the sumptuousness of this court 
 personate, you may form an idea by the twenty- 
 five body - coachmen, fifty body - footmen, and 
 twenty-five body-servants of the chambers attend- 
 ing his Majesty. The adjoining room is the pri- 
 vate cabinet, a simple but costly furnished cham- 
 
112 THE EMPEROR. 
 
 ber, with green curtains, in which, leaning with the 
 right hand on a moderate mahogany table, there 
 stands a figure of a middle size, but exceedingly 
 lank, surmounted by an oblong head, with a cou- ^ 
 pie of large blue eyes, apparently all openness and 
 sincerit}^ but for a sinister twinkling, long and 
 hollow cheeks, which seem to have ceded all their 
 flesh to the chin, and a pair of thick lips, express- 
 ing now and then a good-humoured compla- 
 cency, with his head at times nodding, and again a 
 scowling sullenness. Let your eyes descend on a 
 frame most loosely hung together, legs on which 
 four consorts have scarcely left an ounce of flesh, 
 boots dangling about a pair of equally ill-provided 
 feet, — and you have the descendant of nineteen 
 Emperors, and the present Sovereign of Austria. 
 When still Archduke, he followed his uncle, the 
 Emperor Joseph, to Hungary. A certain phlegm, 
 and I may be allowed to say every-day manner, 
 made this Emperor exclaim, in a fit of impatience, 
 " That is a good-for-nothing boy, lie will spoil 
 every thing again," alluding to the reforms Joseph 
 had carried on. The opinion which Prince Kau- 
 nitz gave shortly before his death, was little more 
 flattering. " The French Revolution is going to 
 make Europe one large field of battle. I am sorry 
 
TITE EMPEROR. 
 
 113 
 
 my country will be the chief party in the contest, 
 will be the loser, and what has been united during 
 five hundred years, will be dissolved." 
 
 This prince has been an instrument in the 
 hands of his subjects during his whole reign, not 
 so much from imbecility, as from a certain wily 
 indolence, v-/hich, conscious of its own inefficacy, 
 throws itself on others as long as policy and cir- 
 cumstances seem to dictate it. From his accession 
 to the throne in 179^2 till 1811, when he fell into 
 the hands of Metternich, he was entirely guided 
 by the leading and binding features of the Aus- 
 trian monarchy, its powerful oligarchy, and strug- 
 gled with the French nation with that slow firm- 
 ness and unceasing pertinacity which no losses of 
 battles, no treachery nor disasters could weary, 
 and which might have been expected from ^ 
 powerful aristocracy, who considered their in- 
 terests and their very existence at stake. 
 
 During this whole period, when openly betray- 
 ed by his generals, as Mack and A g, desert- 
 ed by his Prussian and Russian aHies, after the 
 tremendous disasters at Marengo and Ulm, yet 
 Francis never lost, even for a moment, his 
 
 I 
 
114 
 
 THE EMPEROR. 
 
 phlegm, and that indifference, of which it is 
 almost impossible to give an idea. There was 
 hardly any change in his mien, or in his fa- 
 vourite occupations— seal- wax making, looking 
 after his pigeons, and playing the violin, which 
 he attended to as regularly, when at Vienna, as 
 to his current business. Just as a master, whose 
 servant has broken a dozen of champaigne, will 
 tell his butler before dinner, Now you may look 
 where to get another dozen ; so Francis, after the 
 loss of a battle, or capture of an army, would say 
 to his ministers, " Now you may look where you 
 can get an army again." The issue of the san- 
 guinary battle of Marengo roused the spirits of 
 his subjects, and their desire of revenge, wonder- 
 fully. The Austrian, Bohemian, and Moravian 
 youths rose unanimously in arms, and offered 
 themselves for the defence of the country. There 
 were among these troops, called the Aufgebot of 
 Prince Charles, six hundred students from the Uni- 
 versity at Prague, many of whom were noblemen, 
 all of distinguished families. The Emperor was 
 prevailed upon by his brother Charles to review 
 these valiant youths, and to pay them some com- 
 pliment. The review took place at Budweis, in 
 Bohemia, and Francis expressed his satisfaction. 
 
REVIEW AT BUDWEIS. 
 
 115 
 
 " Oh ! you look very handsome ; I could not 
 have believed it : but I am glad I don't want 
 you. We have now peace, and you may go home 
 again." As a proof of his Imperial satisfaction, 
 he ordered the distribution of a new-coined florin 
 (two shillings) to each of these gentlemen. The 
 incensed youths threw this acknowledgment of 
 high favour unanimously into the river. 
 
 It is difficult to conceive how by so little en- 
 couragement, and with so few shining qualities as a 
 sovereign, Francis could have carried on a war 
 such as that of 1809. It is certainly the most 
 splendid period in the modern history of Aus- 
 tria, and shows more than any thing what this 
 power may perform when roused and properly 
 managed. 
 
 More than 60,000 soldiers were raised, trained, 
 and led to the field of battle by the nobility alone 
 of the different provinces, and at their own ex- 
 pense. Immense were their exertions, as well as 
 those of the people in general. 
 
 The ornaments of the churches ; the plate of 
 the noblemen ; the trinkets of the wealthy ; the 
 I 2 
 
116 
 
 BATTLE OF WAG RAM. 
 
 silver spoons and forks of the middle classes, all 
 went the same way, to defray the expenses of this 
 war, without murmuring or repining. The battle 
 of Regens, far from damping the spirits of the 
 people, only augmented their exertions, which 
 were crowned by the glorious battle at Aspern. 
 It inspired, the whole empire with an incredible 
 enthusiasm, and Francis went even so far as to ac- 
 knowledge the exertions of his army in an address 
 of thanks. The battle of Wagram succeeded. 
 The plan of the Archduke Charles for this battle 
 is well known. With the united armies under his 
 own and Archduke John's commands, he resolved 
 to enfold Napoleon and to crush him. The con- 
 test began with fury on both sides. The right 
 wing under Charles was victorious, and kept ad- 
 vancing. The left, which was to be joined by 
 Archduke John, was hard pressed and retreating. 
 Every eye was anxiously turned towards the 
 road to Presburg, whence Prince John was ex- 
 pected. Francis, then at his head-quarters at 
 Wolkersdorf, sat quietly at his dinner, when one 
 of the adjutants came with the bad tidings of the 
 non-appearance of Archduke John, and the re- 
 treat of the army. " Have I not told you," 
 said the Emperor to his Aid-de-camp, B~n D — , 
 rising at the same time, " that John will leave us 
 
POLICY OF THE E^aPEROR. 
 
 117 
 
 to fight our battle alone, and that we shall have 
 again to pay the reckoning ? Now we may look 
 for the hole which the carpenter has left open 
 (Hab ichs nicht gesagt das uns Johan, wird 
 sitzen lassen, aud das wir wieder die zecke wer- 
 den bezahlen mussen. letzt konnen wir shauen 
 wo der Zim merman n das I^och offen gelassen 
 hat.) So saying, his Majesty rose, and stepped 
 into his calash, with a phlegm which astounded 
 every one. 
 
 Certain hints respecting the secret views of his 
 brother, the Archduke Charles, determined Fran- 
 cis to deprive him of his command immediately 
 after the battle, and to conclude a disadvan- 
 tageous peace. The same person who gave him 
 these hints, was appointed his minister of foreign 
 affairs. Being on good terms with Napoleon, he 
 wanted neither army nor nobility any longer, and 
 he acknowledged their services in a manner which 
 alone would be sufficient to stifle the most en- 
 thusiastic valour. The licences for trafficking; with 
 tobacco and snuff, enjoyed by some thousands of 
 old women and plebeians, were recalled, and given 
 to those officers who had distinguished themselves 
 throughout this campaign. The nobility, if they 
 were not entirely cast aside, were at least treated 
 
118 
 
 NAPOLEON AND THE EMPEROR. 
 
 in a manner that damped their spirits more effec- 
 tually than all their former sacrifices and losses. 
 From the moment Francis put himself into the 
 hands of Metternich, not a trace was to be found 
 of that frankness and uprightness which, notwith- 
 standing the vacillating inexperience of his youth, 
 had guided him through the different stages and 
 storms of his political life. His subserviency to 
 the views of his son-in-law was disgusting even 
 to the latter himself ; but poor Napoleon was too 
 little of a courtier to penetrate his father-in-law 
 and his counsellor. When at Dresden with his 
 son-in-law, the latter paid him a visit the next 
 day after his arrival. Short and quick as he was 
 in all his doings, he instantly proposed Silesia in 
 exchange for Poland, then in the possession of 
 Austria. Metternich was called from the next 
 room. The discussion grew warmer, and Francis 
 told his Minister in German — " Metternich, no ! 
 that won't do ; I don't want his Silesia ; nor will I 
 give up Poland ; and tell him that I don't like 
 this way : he will give us to-day Silesia, and take 
 it in a fortnight, as he does now from the poor 
 d — 1 the King of Prussia. He has not kept his 
 word and returned to us Trieste and other places 
 as he promised to me." 
 
NAPOLEON AND THE EMPEROR. 119 
 
 " What does he say ?" asked Napoleon, angry at 
 the broad sounds of the Austrian tongue. " Oh 
 nothing/' said Metternich, with a courteous bow, 
 
 but the most sincere assurances of inviolable 
 attachment to your Imperial Majesty." A few 
 hours afterwards, his Austrian Majesty laughed 
 heartily, telling his confidant, " My Metternich is 
 a clever fellow for making an X for a Y ;" and 
 with a cunning nod, " I hope we shall succeed." 
 According to this promise of a faithful alliance, 
 Prince Schwarzenberg was sent with the stipu- 
 lated 30,000 men to Poland, and behaved so va- 
 liantly, that from the 500,000 troops who com- 
 posed the invading French army and their auxi- 
 liaries, he alone returned with his 30,000 men, 
 having, in reality, more assisted the Russians than 
 Napoleon. 
 
 Never was there a monarch engaged in a more 
 important question than Francis in the year 1813. 
 When Alexander and Frederick-William arrived at 
 Prague, their armies were beaten at Grosbern and 
 Bautzen; their armaments scarcely begun; the for- 
 tresses of the whole of Prussia, even Dantzic, in the 
 hands of Napoleon, to whose victorious army of 
 150,000, they could not oppose 50,000. Favourable 
 
120 
 
 POLICY OF THE EMPEROR. 
 
 as the season was, Prussia and Russia must have 
 fallen. On the other hand, with the Duke of Wel- 
 lington advancing in Spain, Francis dissatisfied, 
 Germany fomenting and anxious to break its yoke, 
 Napoleon's situation was not less desperate, and he 
 who would have disdained under any other cir- 
 cumstances to stoop to Francis, submitted. The 
 fate of Europe lay in his hands. Whatever party 
 he chose, if he acted on firm principles, it was 
 almost impossible not to bind with the strongest 
 ties of a lasting gratitude to him, and to his em- 
 pire. It was in his power to show himself, his 
 family, and his empire, as the bulwarli of Eu- 
 rope, and the interest of every one to see its 
 strength undiminished. 
 
 Nothing more was necessary than to pursue 
 with England the path which he trod for 
 twenty years. England itself would have ho- 
 noured him as a noble ally, the Bourbons of 
 France and Prussia as their saviour, Russia as a 
 firm empire. Francis had a man who was honest 
 and firm enough to propose this course to his mas- 
 ter ; it was the excellent, but too little known. 
 Generalissimo of the Allied Armies, Prince 
 Schwarzenberg. His bad genius prevailed, and 
 he gave himself up to Metternich and his gui- 
 
POLICY OF THE EMPEROR. 
 
 121 
 
 dance, and then became, from the head of the 
 Alhance, the instrument of Alexander. This 
 monarch played a submissive part to Francis till 
 Paris was conquered ; then he thought it no longer 
 necessary, and Napoleon was dethroned before 
 Francis dreamed of it. Russia earned, in fact, the 
 whole fruit of these wars ; crushed a powerful 
 rival, exhausted its neighbours and allies, Eng- 
 land, Austria, and Prussia, beyond im.agination, 
 and thus prepared its way to universal monarchy. 
 Thus we see Francis, who duped his son-in-law, 
 sacrificed his child and grandchild^ was duped in 
 the same manner by Alexander, but not pitied ; for 
 Philip of Macedon's saying at Olympia will al- 
 ways stand good. As he had now lost every secu- 
 rity against the encroachments of Kussia, his minis- 
 ter, always ready in expedients, drew up the Holy 
 Alliance. Alexander, who laughed with his minis- 
 ters in his heart at the folly of an eternal Holy Al- 
 liance, found, however, this plaything useful, and 
 put himself at the head of it. . Francis is not fond 
 of John Bull, whose sturdy and refractory temper 
 corresponds so ill with his notions of respect due 
 to his Imperial dignity ; and while Alexander and 
 Frederic- William were going to pay their respects 
 to this omnipotent personage, he went home to 
 make preparation for the reception of his guests 
 
122 
 
 ANDREAS HOFER, 
 
 in tliat style of Saus and Bmus for which the 
 German princes are so justly celebrated. 
 
 There is certainly nothing more ungenerous 
 than to see a monarch with his brother sove- 
 reigns feasting for six months at the expense 
 of a people exhausted by a twenty-five years' 
 war ; but his Majesty was never much troubled 
 with scruples of delicacy. On the contrary, 
 the unexpected success in his plans, and the 
 hoped-for extension of his dominions, filled him 
 with a pride which forthwith manifested itself in 
 new court-dresses, in splendid carriages, and in 
 the reform of the whole pageantry, at the ex- 
 pense of several millions. He himself grew stern, 
 and his dictates were delivered in the charac- 
 teristic expression, I wilL" — Even his own 
 subjects felt this change, and though far from 
 expressing their discontent, not all of them con- 
 curred in his predilections for unlimited power. 
 The first who spoke were the Tyrolese. There 
 is in these mountaineers a simplicity, a strength 
 of mind, a true loftiness which elevates them far 
 above the modern Swiss. When Andreas Hofer, 
 a name whose sound elicits tears from every Tyro- 
 lian eye, was in Innspruck, after the glorious de- 
 feat of the Bavarians at Schwegingen, the stu- 
 
AlS^DREAS HOFER, 123 
 
 dents T\'itli the inhabitants assembled before his 
 hotel to bring him, as they said, a serenade. 
 
 A deputation went in to inform Hofer of their 
 intention. Hofer stept out, uncovered his head, 
 and addressed the multitude. " Hear, my beloved 
 countrymen. This is not a time for vain glory. 
 Do not let us siog and play the liddle, but let us 
 fall on our knees, and pray for strength in our 
 desperate struggle and his rosary in his hand 
 he knelt down, and the assembled thousands with 
 him. Never was there, perhaps, a prayer more 
 fervent or more sincere. 
 
 The distant thunder of the cannon, which they 
 heard a fevr hours afterwards, told them that 
 Hofer was again engaged with the enemy. The 
 Bavarians treated the Tyrolese, after their return 
 to obedience, in a generous manner, and tried by 
 every means to reconcile them. "When they fell 
 again into the hands of Austria, contributions, 
 taxes, a host of douaniers^ and the conscription, 
 made them aware of their mistake, and feel the 
 difference between the Bavarian sceptre and the 
 Austrian 3^oke. To pray for an alleviation 
 and their ancient constitution, a deputation con- 
 sisting of two prelates, two lords, and two com- 
 
IM FRANCIS AND THE TYROLESE. 
 
 moners, went over to Vienna. These latter 
 still exercise their privilege to address the Em- 
 peror in the first person. Francis received them 
 frowning, the mere name of a constitution being, 
 indeed, the only thing which will affect his phlegm. 
 
 The answer which he gave them is worth preserv- 
 ing in the constitutional annals of the present times. 
 " So you want a constitution, do ye ?^'' — " Yes^ 
 Francis," answered the two commons with a firm 
 voice, while the lords and prelates bowed. — 
 
 Now look ye," replied he, I don^t care ; I will 
 give you a constitution ; but let me tell you, the 
 soldiers are mine, and if I want money, I shan't 
 ask you twice ; and as to your tongues, I would 
 advise you not to let them go too far :" to which 
 Imperial impromptu the Tyrolese replied, " If 
 thou thinkest so, we are better without any." — *' I 
 think so myself,"" concluded his Majesty. 
 
 Of a rather more serious nature were the pe- 
 titions or rather demands of the Hungarians. 
 Francis was never a favourite with this lofty 
 nation of noblemen. His plainness and common 
 manner, so much admired among his German 
 subjects, and so well calculated to make them for- 
 get taxes and oppression, they do not hesitate 
 
DISCONTENT OF THE HUNGARIANS. 125 
 
 to call vulgarity. With a growing discontent, 
 since the reign of Joseph the Second, they 
 watched over their rights, joined but coldly in 
 the wars of Austria, and were even, during the 
 eventful period of 1809, with difficulty prevailed 
 upon to furnish more troops than their stipulated 
 contingent. Though they refused the offer of 
 Napoleon to choose a king of their own, yet to 
 see their king subservient, as Francis showed 
 himself to Napoleon, and then to act so perfidious 
 a part, mortified them exceedingly. During the 
 time of the. wars, and while the Emperor was 
 guided by the counsels and influence of their no- 
 bilit}^, they overlooked the encroachments at- 
 tempted at different times, and even the suspen- 
 sion of the sittings of their Diet. Repeated petitions 
 were presented, yet they never complained loudly. 
 Things have, however, changed, and assumed a 
 rather serious aspect, since Metternich was placed 
 at the head of affairs. Repeated encroachments 
 on their constitution, and, above all, the engross- 
 ing of the sole power, formerly possessed by the 
 whole body of the aristocracy, by their sovei'eign, 
 roused the indignation of this nation, in a manner 
 which alarmed even the phlegm of his Majesty. 
 Francis himself is little fond of his lofty Hunga- 
 rians, with whom his broad and short way, " I 
 
126 
 
 FllEEDOM OF DISCUSSION. 
 
 will,''' would not do ; .and though he flattered them, 
 apparently in every manner he could, yet he did 
 every thing in his power to retaliate on them for 
 their indifference and stubborn neglect of his Im- 
 perial dignity. They are excluded from trade with 
 the rest of the empire, and considered, in fact, as 
 strangers. 
 
 Exports and imports are subject to the same 
 duties as coming from a foreign country. His 
 policy, with respect to the Greeks, who confess 
 the same religion with, at least, 4,000,000 of Hun- 
 garians, contributed, with the fluctuating value of 
 the depreciated currency, not a little to augment 
 their indignation. The freedom with which they 
 proceed in their parliamentary discussions offended 
 his Majesty more than any thing ; and when he com- 
 plained that they were sitting four weeks without 
 deciding any thing, one of the Magnates, Count 
 
 P , rose and said, " His Majesty has been 
 
 seated thirty years on the throne of Hungary, and 
 has not done any thing for us.'"' A certain respect 
 for his age, and a habit of obeying, during a 
 reign of thirty-four years, will keep this nation 
 in proper bounds as long as Francis lives ; 
 but his successor will have all the indignities and 
 bad humours, collected during fifty years, to con- 
 
NATIONAL HONOUR. 
 
 127 
 
 tend with. But even in the rest of the empire, 
 the German hereditary dominions, every thing is 
 not as his Majesty wishes it to be. There is not 
 a monarchy whose interior relations are both so 
 intricate and dehcate. The titles of possession 
 by which the House of Austria acquired their 
 dominions, are, with the exception of Austria 
 Proper, Italy, and Poland, marriage titles ; the 
 ties by which these 20,000,000 were kept in obe- 
 dience, were not so much military power as 
 affection ; the principle of honour and good faith 
 on the part of the subjects ; and a certain re- 
 spect towards the rooted habits of the people ; and 
 the establishment of an economical management of 
 the treasures, and honesty on the part of the 
 monarchs. 
 
 It was this principle of honour and good faith 
 which saved Ferdinand the IV. and caused the 
 defeat of the plans of the Duke of Waldstein. 
 The same also roused the Hungarians, and 
 saved Maria Theresa. The neglect of respect 
 towards rooted prejudices and old establish- 
 ments had cost Joseph II. nearly his finest 
 kingdom, Hungary. Though the Austrian mo- 
 narchs never encouraged arts and sciences to 
 a great extent, yet, with the exception of Bohemia, 
 
128 
 
 JOSEPH IT. 
 
 they did not so openly oppress them; and when 
 Ferdinand II. did so, he was severely punished 
 for it. They divested the states of several king- 
 doms of their obnoxious powers, as in Hungary 
 and Bohemia ; but in the former the constitution 
 was left entire, in the latter the form, and both 
 kingdoms might have resumed their national in- 
 dependence, without any change in the adminis- 
 tration . 
 
 There was never a secret police before, and 
 Joseph II. being informed of a placard fixed on 
 the Castle walls, rather too high to be legible, 
 caused it to be placed under the very eyes of his 
 subjects. The Government itself was far from 
 being a despotic one. The provincial tribunals, 
 with their governors at their head, represented 
 the sovereign, appointed their respective officers, 
 who were confirmed by the Emperor, and exer- 
 cised under him a proper authority. The courts 
 of justice were entirely independent. The uni- 
 versities, colleges, and gymnasiums had, till 
 1811, a shadow left of their own jurisdiction, 
 under the superintendence of the provincial Go- 
 vernment ; which, small as the influence was which 
 it exercised, flattered the pride of the nations. 
 
AUSTRIAN TAXES. 1^9 
 
 Maria Theresa, had recourse to the church trea- 
 sures during the seven years' war, but refunded 
 this loan most rehgiousiy. The taxes were insigni- 
 ficant, comparatively with those of other coun- 
 tries, and those raised during a war were redu- 
 ced as soon as it was over. There was through- 
 out an honesty, a good faith, a paternal hand 
 visible, which if it inflicted wounds, also cured 
 them. It became a general axiom, Bella geraut 
 alia in felix Austria nube. Though the Austrian 
 monarchy kept not pace with the rest of the world, 
 yet its nations were not unhappy : though it was 
 the happiness of still life. Since the year 1811, 
 the Emperor, they say, has broken his Imperial 
 word of honour not less than twenty times, and not 
 kept his promise a single time. Notwithstanding 
 a repeated bankruptcy, which reduced the paper 
 currency, at first to a fifth and then to a third, 
 the Austrians have still only paper currency, which, 
 in spite of the appellation, (metaliquis,) has only a 
 paper value. " The taxes," they say, " which were, 
 as the Emperor promised, to be reduced after the 
 war, continue in the same manner, and more op- 
 pressive than ever." In trade there is an absolute 
 stagnation, as the strange policy of Metternich 
 closes the roads to Hungary and Germany. The 
 
 K 
 
130 PUBLIC FEELING IN AUSTRIA. 
 
 treasures of their churches, which the Emperor 
 promised to restore in the most solemn manner, 
 are gone for ever ; they see themselves watched 
 by thousands of spies, and, to open their eyes 
 more completely, they see the Turks, whom they 
 call the Erbfeind, (the hereditary enemies of Chris- 
 tendom,) favoured and protected against Christian 
 brethren, in spite of the religious profession and 
 devotedness of his Majesty. Where personal affec- 
 tion and religious faith are the only ties which 
 bind nations to their sovereign, as is the case in 
 Austria, it is certainly not a trifling matter to 
 see all these things so grossly violated. The suc- 
 cessor of Francis will execrate the blindness with 
 which this ill-fated monarch chimes in with the 
 blighting, withering policy of his Prime Minister. 
 It is a painful idea to be thought more sot than 
 one really is, but to be made more sot, and to 
 feel the degrading hand, and not to hate it, is 
 impossible. To affirm that the nations which 
 compose the Austrian Empire are insensible or 
 indifferent about their treatment, shows a want of 
 understanding. We must not judge of the state 
 of this Empire from the Austrian observers, or 
 tourists, who have gathered their information in 
 some taverns, watched by a dozen spies. 
 
REVOLT OF THE UNIVERSITIES. 131 
 
 The Bohemians, Moravians, Hungarians, and 
 Poles, are not Englishmen, nor even Germans, in 
 point of enliojhtened information ; but they have 
 infinitely more strength of mind and national 
 feeling than the latter. The silence which reigns 
 throughout Austria is compulsory; but the aqua 
 tofafia^^ of Metternich's system is too complicated 
 not to excite the attention and the indignation 
 even of the most stolid human being. To reduce 
 the youth of an empire of thirty millions to that 
 low degree of idiotism which befits the views of 
 his Majesty, it is not sufficient to write school- 
 books in Vienna, by Messrs. Trint and Co., and 
 to send them to the different universities and col- 
 leges : there have been, and still are, men up- 
 right and learned; they must be removed and 
 replaced by faithful slaves. This has been done 
 with the universities of Prague, Vienna, Olmutz, 
 Lay bach, &c. 
 
 Of the horror which this measure spread all 
 over the empire we know nothing ; but it will 
 never be forgotten. The consequence was the 
 revolt of these universities, and the sending of 
 the youths to the regiments on the Dannat. It 
 has made the Emperor Francis more hated than 
 K 2 
 
132 OPINIONS OF AN AUSTllIAN PEASANT. 
 
 all his taxes. To insure a complete obedience, the 
 Emperor has divested the provincial governments 
 and tribunals of their authority. The sole and ab- 
 solute power is now in his own and his minister's 
 hands, and the Governments are not allowed to 
 dispose of a sum above two and a half pounds ster- 
 ling; but, instead of concentrating business and 
 of insuring obedience, this measure had no other 
 end than to disafFect the nobility and the pro- 
 vinces, and to create abuses ; notwithstanding new 
 hosts of fresh officers, and a confusion of which 
 it is almost impossible to form a competent idea. 
 There were, during my stay at Vienna, not less 
 than 6000 exhibits, as they are called, laid up for 
 the Imperial decision. 
 
 The reasoning even of the peasants is simple 
 but true. They are still able to read, and to 
 peruse the Imperial patents and decrees, of which, 
 they say, not one has kept its promises. Though 
 they are not financiers, and are ignorant of Met- 
 ternich's shameful bartering with Rothschild and 
 his brethren, yet they feel the effects of it : 
 " The silver,'"* the simple Austrian says, "of 
 our churches is gone. We pay still the taxes 
 which were levied only for the term of two 
 years. Our currency changes every day — every 
 
POLICY OF FRANCIS. 
 
 133 
 
 hour: we have now a florin in our hands; to- 
 morrow, perhaps, three-quarters ; and after to- 
 morrow, a third."" As to the Austrian proper, he 
 loves his Emperor with that heartiness with which 
 the German tribes are attached to their princes 
 and their faults ; but still he will tell you, 
 " Yes, our Frauzl is a good man ; but he has 
 belied us very often : and if I were he," turning 
 his neck with a cunning sudden jerk, " I would 
 place Metternich still higher — on the gallows !" 
 In Moravia, where his familiarity is already less 
 known, and where they appreciate his Majesty 
 more from the teaorof his decrees, they will speak 
 very indifferently, or not at all of him ; and in 
 Bohemia, the beloved Frauzl has lost all credit. 
 They dare not call him names, but they think 
 and hate him as a downright faithless tyrant. 
 
 Francis is well aware what is going on, and 
 so are the principal characters ; and therefore the 
 thousands of secret spies, watching, not the fo- 
 reigners, but his own subjects ; his repeated 
 visits to Bohemia and Hungary; his remission 
 of the outstanding taxes and contributions to 
 both kingdoms ; and his endeavours to secure 
 the succession to his beloved son Archduke Fran- 
 cis Charles, — ^whom he thinks more able to master 
 
134 
 
 POLITICAL REFLECTIONS. 
 
 the impending storm than the Crown Prince:— 
 but, with all his endeavours, he will not be able 
 to lay the rising ghost. Silent, deep, but embit- 
 tered, this people go on : Francis has instructed 
 them in the art of dissimulation and treachery, 
 and the successor of Francis will reap the fruits of 
 it. The deep-rooted habit of obeying, a certain 
 reverence towards his age, and, above all, the 
 well-known omniscience of the Emperor and his 
 designs, will keep them in obedience as long as 
 he lives, and as long as he is able to pay his spies 
 and his army of officers ; but the load of the 
 public debt, the financial confusion, is too great, 
 and the resources of the German hereditary domi- 
 nions are too exhausted, to permit a long con- 
 tinuance of this system. Opposed as the Hunga- 
 rians are with their whole and unexhausted 
 strength, and only waiting for the favourable mo- 
 ment, they will raise the standard of opposition 
 and the rest will follow. The ties of honour and 
 good faith which bound the Austrian subjects 
 to their Emperor are entirely broken, and the 
 death of Francis will disclose scenes of which 
 we never dreamed. 
 
 Francis is thought to be a mere instrument in the 
 hands of Metternich. This is not the case. It is a 
 
ESPIONAGE. 
 
 135 
 
 similarity of characters and views which exists be- 
 tween himself and his prime-minister ; he has found 
 out his man, and therefore he adopts his measures 
 and adheres to them. That baneful offspring of a 
 bad conscience, the secret police, is entirely in his 
 hands : he is the chief director of it, and it forms 
 great part of the immense load which lies on 
 his shoulders. So well known is his fondness for 
 secret information, that the vilest of his subjects, 
 who would not dare to pass the threshold of a 
 respectable citizen, approaches, unhesitatingly, his 
 Majesty, provided he brings this venomous stuff. 
 This species of information extends over his whole 
 Empire, — the cottage of the peasant, the dwelling 
 of the citizen, the tavern of the landlord, the palace 
 of the nobleman : no place is exempt from his 
 hirelings. He keeps a regular account of his civil, 
 military, and ecclesiastical officers and dignitaries, 
 from the governor down to the clerk. His ex- 
 cellent memory assists him a great deal. Accord- 
 ing to these secret informations, his officers are 
 nominated. Attachment to his Imperial person is 
 the first requisite, which is always expressed as 
 the reason of the appointment in the diploma.* 
 
 * Out of regard to his sincere attachment to our Imperial 
 person^ H is hereby appointed to this office^ &c. 
 
V36 
 
 MODP- OF ELECTING OFFICERS. 
 
 Of the 60,000 public officers, he himself nomi- 
 nates the principal ministers, presidents, gover- 
 nors, counsellors, assessors, directors ; as well as 
 generals, colonels, archbishops, bishops, and ca- 
 nons, — and all the directors and professors of uni- 
 versities and colleges. In case of a vacancy, the 
 department in which it happens proposes three 
 members. Their merits are weighed according 
 to the prevalent notions, and they are laid before 
 the higher tribunal ; there they are again inves- 
 tigated, and either confirmed or changed ; and 
 finally laid before the Emperor. Till the year 
 1816, the Emperor generally chose the first pro- 
 posed : an exception was a thing unheard of. 
 This is, of course, changed at present. If he has 
 the necessary information respecting the proposed 
 candidates, he appoints one of them to the va- 
 cancy ; if not, he sends for secret information into 
 the province, where the officer to be appointed 
 lives. If the tidings respecting the public and 
 priyate character of the individual do not an- 
 swer the views of his Majesty, one of his ready 
 kept favourites is nominated to the vacancy. 
 The number of these public officers is infinite, and 
 certainly three times greater than that of any 
 other country, owing to the tedious, and even 
 ridiculous, manner in which public business is car- 
 
DEMORALIZxVTION OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 1ST 
 
 riecion. Not an old bench in a school-room can 
 be repaired 800 miles from the capital, without 
 its being approved of by the captain of the circle, 
 an account sent from thence to the government 
 of the province, then to the Aulic Tribunal, farther 
 on to the State Council, which lays it before his 
 Majesty. This egregious manner of doing busi- 
 ness has caused such an immense number of writ- 
 ings and writers, or public officers, as amount to 
 a large army. Every one of his subjects is of 
 course anxious to share the public money, and 
 this zeal has seconded the expected subserviency 
 and anxiety to comply with the wishes of the 
 Emperor. Francis may be said to have trained his 
 subjects, during the thirty-four years of his reign, 
 to a blind obedience, which has absorbed principle, 
 honour, and all noble sentiments. One is really 
 horror-struck at the sight of the moral havoc 
 caused by the short-sighted simplicity of a prince 
 who^ in order to bear down all dispute of his 
 right and supremacy, has, in fact, overturned 
 honour, morality, religion, and principles. Hight 
 is in Austria what pleases th-e Emperor, — his will ; 
 wrong, what displeases him. 
 
 If the Austrians have not yet become what, if 
 this system should continue ten years longer, they 
 
138 
 
 DESPOTISM OF FRANCIS. 
 
 must necessarily be, — the vilest and most perfidi- 
 ous people on the face of the earth, it is certainly 
 not the fault of Francis. The education of the 
 youth, public stations, secret policy, every thing 
 combines here, to produce political and moral de- 
 gradation. And this system of degradation he 
 carries on in that plain, coarse, and downright mat- 
 ter-of-fact manner with which a cross master dis- 
 poses of his house affairs. Compared with the 
 roughness with which Francis handles his sub- 
 jects, by the mere plainness of his manner, the ty- 
 ranny of Napoleon was a trifle. He incarcerates 
 bishops, as well as princes and counts, just as 
 he pleases ; and should his students murmur or 
 rise against their professors, they are sent as 
 private soldiers to the frontiers of Turkey, — all 
 in the most parental manner. There is in this 
 prince a strange mixture of unassuming sim- 
 plicity and of despotic haughtiness, of a truly 
 jesuitical craftiness with an apparent frankness, of 
 the coarsest and most ungrateful egotism with an 
 apparently kind-hearted indulgence. If you see 
 him driving his old-fashioned, green caleche and 
 two, dressed in a brown, shabby cabotte, with a 
 corresponding hat, nodding friendly to his right 
 and left, or good-humouredly speaking to his 
 Grand Chamberlain, Count Wobna, you would 
 
FAMILY OF FKANCIS, 
 
 139 
 
 think it impossible that in him there is the least 
 pride. Again, when you see sovereigns and princes 
 approaching him with that awe and shyness which 
 mark a decided distrust, and he himself just 
 as plain, even as gross, as if he spoke to the least 
 of his subjects, you feel convinced that there is 
 occasion for being on your guard, against an open- 
 ness which might send you in the plainest way 
 into the dungeons of Munkatsch, Komom, or 
 Spielperg. He is certainly not a hypocrite, but 
 there is a wiliness and an innate deceit in him, 
 which baffles the keenest eye, and really deceived 
 Napoleon. Even his own family trust him lit- 
 tle ; and though his intercourse with them is 
 plain, and they mix on familiar terms, yet they 
 always keep their distance. Neither his brother 
 nor the Crown Prince is allowed the least inter- 
 ference in public business, except what is allotted 
 to them. 
 
 Of his brothers, he likes the Archduke 
 Rainer, Vice-king of Italy, best ; of Charles he 
 is jealous ; John is too learned for him ; the 
 Palatine too impetuous. AVhen this latter prince 
 requested his permission to marry his present 
 (third) wife, the Emperor replied to him, half 
 frowning: " You may take her; but I shall 
 
140 DOMESTIC HABITS OF FRANCIS 
 
 myself pray for her long life, for I presume your 
 next would be a Jewess/"* Though he is very 
 fond of his Empress, and is frequently heard say- 
 ing, " Now I am happy yet she has no political 
 influence. When he saw her first, he whispered 
 to his Grand Chamberlain, " That is one who 
 will stand a pujf' I am glad of it. I shall not 
 have a burial again in a fortnight." 
 
 He rises commonly at six o'clock, takes breakfast 
 an hour afterwards, and transacts public business 
 till one o'clock, or gives public audiences. At two 
 o'clock he takes a ride, sometimes with his Em- 
 press, but oftener with his favourite Grand Cham- 
 berlain, the excellent Count Wobna, or his aid- 
 de-camp. Baron Rutscherd. At four o'clock he 
 dines, commonly on five dishes with a dessert : his 
 beverage is water, and a liqueur-tumbler filled with 
 Tokay. (") After dinner he takes a peep at his 
 plants, in the Paradise Garth ; or looks whether 
 any of his pigeons have strayed away or have 
 been captured, a circumstance which makes him 
 always angry ; and at six o'clock he takes coifee, 
 made in the new Imperial Garden Pavilion by 
 the Empress herself, who, dressed in a plain suit, 
 delights to be cook and landlady in person. The 
 time till supper is filled out with terzettos^ which 
 
FAMILY OF FRANC TSi 
 
 141 
 
 he performs on the violin with his favourite aid- 
 de-camp, Baron K ^a, and another nobleman 
 
 or prince. As father of a family, he deserves 
 praise : there is not a more decent and respectable 
 family in the empire than his own. Besides the 
 higher branches of education, every member of 
 it is obliged to learn a mechanic occupation; 
 and the Archdukes are carpenters and cabinet- 
 makers, and the Crown Prince himself a weaver. 
 Gallantries are entirely excluded : and a cele- 
 brated beauty who from an opposite box in the 
 Imperial theatre had the audacity to wish his 
 
 son-in-law, the Prince of S o, a good evening, 
 
 was sent to prison, and the prince himself se- 
 verely reprimanded. His second son, Francis 
 Charles, is his favourite, a clever young man, of 
 a prepossessing appearance. He is universally 
 spoken of as his successor. Whether this viola- 
 tion of the Pragmatic Sanction, even caused by the 
 absolute stupidity of the Crown Prince, would 
 not be productive of even more serious conse- 
 quences than the reign of the latter, we doubt 
 very much. Hungary is absolutely against this ; 
 and this alone is an impediment which never can 
 nor will be overcome. 
 
 Of all the members of his family, the Duke 
 
W2 
 
 DUKE OF REICHSTADT. 
 
 of Reich stadt experiences the most marked ten- 
 derness. It seems as if he wished to obliterate 
 the wrong he had inflicted on the father by his 
 double dealing. He is, indeed, an interesting 
 youth, beautifully formed, with the countenance 
 and the fine cut lips of his father, and the blue 
 eyes of his mother. One cannot see this blooming 
 youth, with his inexpressible tint of melancholy 
 and thoughtfulness, without a deep emotion. 
 He has not that marked plain and familiar ease 
 of the Austrian princes, who seem to be every 
 where at home ; but his demeanour is more dig- 
 nified, and noble in the extreme. Two Prussian 
 officers arrived with us at Shoenbrunn, his resi- 
 dence, and wished to be introduced to him. His 
 Lord Chamberlain was just refusing their indeli- 
 cate demand, in rather an animadverting manner^ 
 when the Prince stept out from his apartments, 
 and advanced towards the grand staircase before 
 the palace, to take a ride with his governor. He 
 stopped awhile before the two officers, his eyes 
 fixed ; describing at the same time figures on the 
 ground. At last, casting a significant glance at 
 them, " Des Prnssiens demanded he ; and turn- 
 ing gracefully aside, he went down to mount his 
 horse. 
 
DUKE OF REICHSTADT. 
 
 143 
 
 It is an Arabian steed, a present from his 
 grandfather, and he strides it with a nobleness 
 which gives the promise of as good horsemanship 
 as that for which his father was so celebrated. 
 We saw him some time after at the head of his 
 escadron, who almost adore him ; and he com- 
 manded with a precision and a military eye, 
 which prognosticate a future general. He is, 
 by virtue of an Imperial decree, proprietor of the 
 eight domains of the Grand-duke of Toskana, in 
 Bohemia, with an income of above S0,000/. ster- 
 ling: a greater revenue than is enjoyed by any of 
 the Imperial princes, the Archduke Charles except- 
 ed. His title is Duke of Reichstadt. He is ad- 
 dressed " Euer Durchlaiicht,''^ {Voire Altesse.) His 
 rank is immediately after that of the princes of the 
 reigning house, the Austrian family of Este and 
 Toskana. His court establishment is the same 
 with the Imperial princes : he has his Obersthqf- 
 meister, his Lord Chamberlain, aids-de-camp, and 
 a corresponding inferior household. In possession, 
 as he is, of a large fortune, his destination will 
 depend on his talents and on his inclination. 
 
PEINCE METTERNICH. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The Austrian Chancellor of State^ Prince Metternich. 
 
 Neve 11 has there been a man more detested 
 and dreaded than Metternich, From the Baltic 
 to the Pyrenees,- from the boundaries of Turkey 
 to the borders of Holland, there is but one voice 
 heard respecting this Minister—that of execration. 
 As he was the chief instrument in new modelling 
 the present form of Europe, the author and the 
 mainspring of the Holy Alliance, that embryo 
 of great events, his character and policy deserve 
 our impartial investigation. Metternich is de- 
 scended from one of the ancient but impoverished 
 German families, which gave to this country their 
 spiritual princes. A subtle management of af- 
 fairs at the Congress of Rastadt, where he repre- 
 
PRINCE METTERNICH. 
 
 145 
 
 sented the Counts of Westphalia, brought him 
 under the notice of the Emperor of Austria ; and 
 he entered his service as Ambassador to the Court 
 of Dresden. In the year 1806, he was appointed 
 Ambassador to the French Court. Napoleon had 
 just at this time relaxed from his rigour against 
 the ancient French nobiUty, and they gathered 
 round him in considerable numbers. Witli a free 
 passport to the coteries of these famiUes, from 
 which, of course, all the illegitimate members of 
 the new created nobility were excluded, Metter- 
 nich glided with that insinuating suavity and 
 graceful demeanour, for which he is so justly 
 celebrated, not only into the secrets and the 
 chronique scandaleuse of the French Court, but 
 even into the favour of the leading characters, 
 and of Napoleon himself. It was here he im- 
 bibed that deep knowledge of Napoleon's charac- 
 ter, and penetrated those secrets which enabled 
 him to perform, a few years afterwards, the 
 political and diplomatical dramas at Dresden and 
 Prague. In 1810, he was appointed Minister 
 of Foreign Affairs, in the place of Count Sladion. 
 How he succeeded to direct the attention of Na- 
 poleon to the Princess Maria Louisa ; how Prince 
 Schwartzenberg, his successor, managed this busi- 
 
 L 
 
146 
 
 PRINCE METTER^^ICH. 
 
 ness ; and how it finally ended ; the wise reader 
 will have a key to, in what has been said. Metter- 
 nich himself disposed the princess to accept of 
 Napoleon's offer, and conducted her to Paris. 
 Several hints respecting a reward for his services 
 were not understood by Napoleon. We know 
 Metternich's character, and how he made up for 
 the disappointment at a subsequent more favour- 
 able opportunity. 
 
 This failure, however, contributed not a lit- 
 tle to facilitate the insinuations of the Russian 
 Autocrat, to whom he was attached since 1806, 
 from a certain similarity of character, such as 
 is consistent with aa Autocrat and a courtier. 
 The deep secrecy in which Mettcrnich involv- 
 ed the plans of Austria, during the French 
 campaign of Russia, and even during the Congress 
 at Prague, is considered as the chef-d'oeuvre 
 of his diplomatic genius. Metteinich knew the 
 citizen-like notions of Napoleon respecting his 
 matrimony with Maria Louisa, and it was not a 
 great matter of difficulty to keep him, during the 
 Congress at Dresden, the invasion, and the suc- 
 ceeding armistice, and the Congress at Prague, in 
 suspense, — till the Austrian armies were in array, 
 and the mask could safely be thrown off. Napo. 
 
PRINCE METTERNICH. 14^7 
 
 leon's pride and unbridled selfishness, which made 
 it impossible for him to see with other eyes than his 
 own, contributed more to his deception and subse- 
 quent ruin, than even Metternich himself. It was 
 this offended pride which made him recall his 
 ambassador, Count Narbonne, the only one who 
 penetrated the designs of Metternich. The sub- 
 stitution was most unfortunate the proud, im- 
 petuous Caulincourt, a slave to his master, and 
 blind to every thing which was going on in 
 Prague, except horses. Fate retributed fully 
 this deception. Metternich became the instru- 
 ment of Alexander ; and if he was not his dupe, 
 he was something still worse. It was he, through 
 whom the Russian Autocrat prevailed upon 
 Schwartzenberg to risk the advance towards 
 Paris, and thus to terminate the war with a 
 single blow. Alexander managed the parties in 
 Paris so well, that the news of the taking of 
 this capital, and the dethronement of Napoleon, 
 arrived at the same time at the head-quarters of 
 the Austrian Empire. 
 
 When Metternich showed the plan of the 
 
 Holy Alliance to P W y, the latter 
 
 replied, " Mais, mon Prince, cela offensera,"" 
 " Des fantaisies was the answer of Metternicho 
 L 2 
 
148 PERSON OF METTEr.NICH. 
 
 In this point, however, Metternich is mistaken : 
 he certainly knows sovereigns and courtiers bet- 
 ter than any man living, but not the people ; and 
 in the same manner as Napoleon ruined him- 
 self from want of proper knowledge of the legiti- 
 mate characters and their hangers-on, so the Holy 
 Alliance and Metternich's consequent adherence to 
 its principles, has done Austria more harm, than 
 all the perfidy of this minister has done good. 
 
 MetternicFs exterior is graceful, though not 
 without a sort of effeminacy. A broad forehead, 
 a fine nose, blue well-formed eyes, an agreeable 
 mouth, which has always a smile at his command, 
 with a well-shaped figure, are the outlines of the 
 Austrian prime-minister. No man turns these 
 gifts to better advantage. With a grace, a sans 
 gene, not in the least incumbered by any of those 
 drawbacks, religion, morality, or principle, — ^he 
 will entertain a circle of fifty and more persons in 
 the most charming manner, — enter into dissipa- 
 tion and the follies of his equals and superiors : 
 but, at the same time, while administering to the 
 pleasures and vices of others, will form his schemes 
 on their frailties and hobby-horses. In the art of 
 penetrating the weak sides of his superiors, and. 
 
ART OF METTERNICH. 
 
 149 
 
 what is still more, of making himself necessary to 
 their frailties, he is absolutely a master. It was 
 in the midst of revelry, during the Congress at 
 
 Vienna, that the R — n E r grew tired of 
 
 these fastidious bacchanalia. The Prime Minister 
 was, as may be thought, embarrassed not a little. 
 It might have deprived him of A r's pre- 
 sence, — of all the fruits of his fine-spun combi- 
 nations. Intimately acquainted with the amiable 
 weak side of his new patron, he perceived that 
 then a stimulating diver tisement would do very 
 well. The gorgeous tournaments, balls, and din- 
 ners, were all at once superseded by petites soirees 
 given by Metternich, at which the beautiful 
 
 P p of S g, a born P ss de CI — — g, 
 
 was the queen. The family of the princess, how- 
 ever, saw the affair in another light, and the con- 
 trivance failed of success. With the same inge- 
 nuity as she was drawn into these petites fami- 
 Uarites, she extricated herself, and withdrew from 
 
 Vienna to F g. A r followed : and the 
 
 fair fugitive was once more compelled to fly be- 
 fore the would-be conqueror. Metternich availed 
 himself in the interim of the time and tide ; 
 and it was principally owing to the transcendent 
 charms of this talisman, which drew A r to 
 
150 
 
 POLITICAL STATE OJ<^ AUSTllTA. 
 
 the subsequent tedious Congresses at Trappau 
 and Laybach. 
 
 Austria is, no doubt, indebted to Metternich 
 and his stratagems for its aggrandisement and its 
 geographical arrondissement. Venice, Milan, and, 
 above all, the Tyrol, Salzbourg, and the ter- 
 ritory which he prevailed on Bavaria, in the 
 most specious terms, to return, are important ac- 
 quisitions. This empire constitutes now a com- 
 pact body of kingdoms and provinces, with more 
 than thirty millions of inhabitants, and a con- 
 siderable sea-coast; — a monarchy which, if its 
 interests were properly understood and managed, 
 might prove a match against the most power- 
 ful on the Continent of Europe. Why the same 
 minister has suffered, nay contributed, to lay 
 Austria at the mercy of Russia, and put it in the 
 power of the latter to bring her armies, after a 
 successful battle, before the gates of Vienna, and 
 to separate the empire into two parts, it would 
 be difficult to explain unless we refer to note Q-^), 
 
 The position of this empire becomes, with re- 
 spect to Russia, indeed, every day more and more 
 critical. The latter government has, since the 
 
POLITICAL STATE OF AUSTRIA. 151 
 
 times of Catherine I., avaiied itself of the reli- 
 gious ties which exist between the Russians and 
 the Turkish provinces, Moldavia, Wallachia, 
 Servia, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, and Dalmatia, 
 to detach them gradually from the Ottoman Porte. 
 They are now almost openly governed by Russian 
 Consuls ; the crescent is but a shadow there, and 
 the natives are in fact more Russian than Turkish 
 subjects. Sooner or later these provinces will be 
 annexed to the Russian colossus, and form with 
 Greece, the natural alhes of Russia, a front which 
 chains Austria, faces the whole of Europe, and com- 
 mands the Mediterranean There is no doubt as 
 to what would then become of Hungary, ('^) Tran- 
 sylvania, and the Austrian Croatia and Dalmatia. 
 
 The Hungarians themselves, or, as they are call- 
 ed, the Haggares, are the thirteenth tribe of the 
 Finnish nation, twelve smaller tribes of which re- 
 side in Russia. More than four millions of Hun- 
 garians are of the Greek confession. Indifferent as 
 they already are to the House of Austria, they 
 would be, in a short time, drawn over to the Rus- 
 sian interest, and the fate of this kingdom, and 
 of Austria itself, could be no longer doubtful : 
 they would be joined to the Russian Empire. To 
 
152 
 
 POLITICAL STATE OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 mend his policy, Metternich favours the Turks, 
 and takes a lively interest in their present new 
 modelHng— during the lifetime of Alexander in 
 a clandestine, and since his death, in an open 
 way, by demonstrations and armies sent to 
 Poland. 
 
 That the Austrian nations desire their consti- 
 tutions as nmch as any other people, no person will 
 dispute, from what we see going on in Hungary, 
 Bohemia, Italy, and the Tyrol. But, besides that 
 constitutions are an utter abhorrence to Metternich 
 and his master, these people want their old con- 
 stitutions. Bohemia wants that granted by Ru- 
 dolph II. ; Hungary would disdain to hear of any 
 other constitution than its own ; the Tyrol desires 
 its monarchs to deliver to them their coronation 
 oath, sitting on the Ducal Stone in a field near 
 Innspruck, just as their counts did in the twelfth 
 century ; Venice sighs after its Doge ; Milan after 
 its Dukes. To satisfy and to manage, at the same 
 time, so many different bodies and interests, would 
 require more pliabihty than even Metternich is 
 master of. The easiest and the shortest way 
 seemed to him that of precluding infection, and, 
 if possible, of destroying bad examples. The 
 King of Naples accordingly is drawn from his ca- 
 
POLITICAL STATE OF AUSTRIA. 153 
 
 pital, and Naples and Piedmont are overrun with 
 Austrian soldiers, and the French sent to Spain, 
 From the same reason, the constitutions of Ger- 
 many are new-modelled, so as to make them harm- 
 less playthings, and inoffensive to their neigh- 
 bours, the Bohemians and Moravians. 
 
 The manner in which Metternich carries his mea- 
 sures into effect, is certainly unique. To a perfect 
 knowledge of all the leading characters with whom 
 he has to deal, he unites an acuteness in select- 
 ing his instruments, not less astonishing. He has 
 indeed collected a living gallery of Metternichians. 
 His ambassadors are a sufficient proof of this 
 fact. Like an immense spider, he has woven his 
 net over the whole of Europe ; has his spies 
 in every capital ; is in Portugal with the Mi- 
 guelites; in Spain, France, and Italy, with the 
 aristocrats and priests ; and in Constantinople 
 with the Sultan, hand and glove : thus wielding or 
 rather resisting the destinies of Europe more than 
 any other person. As a diplomatist, and as a 
 political intriguer, we may be allowed to sav, 
 he stands unrivalled : but there his power ends. 
 Where something more than shifting and in- 
 triguing is necessary, his genius fails him. As a 
 statesman, — if we call by this name a man who 
 
154 
 
 POLITICAL STATE OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 consults the true interests of his prince and of 
 his country, and acts on a great plan, — he is very 
 indifferent. 
 
 We shall forbear long inquiry as to the best 
 course to be pursued with respect to Austria, 
 and willingly allow that this empire and its na- 
 tions are not yet ripe for a constitution. A 
 constitution, whether extorted by the force of 
 arms from a weak prince, or whether the free 
 gift of a sovereign, will sleep, and not be properly 
 enjoyed by the nation until the materials for its 
 proper use are ready prepared in it : — a propor- 
 tionate division of property and intellectual light. 
 England only made a constant use of its excel- 
 lent charter, when the feudal power of its barons 
 was broken, property more equally divided, and 
 the nation enlightened. France follows in the 
 same footsteps. Germany has hght, but the steps 
 which in Prussia have been taken during the ad- 
 ministration of Baron Stein, are again in a retro- 
 grade movement. The rest of Germany consists 
 of a collection of vast manors belonging to lords, 
 who are called kings and princes ; their subjects 
 are little better than tenants. The Austrian em- 
 pire presents but immense domains of the no- 
 bility, and small parcels of land of the peasan- 
 
POLITICAL STATE OF AUSTRIA. 155 
 
 try. There is no connecting link between these 
 two extremes of wealth and information, and of 
 poverty and darkness, in a third middle state. 
 A great statesman, such a one as Chatham, Pitt, 
 Sally, Colberg, or Stein, would have sold the 
 immense domains of the ci own, of the jmid of 
 public worship^ of the studies, and of the different 
 corporations to the nation, and thus have created 
 a third order, and the materials for a steady and 
 moral futurity. They would have promoted, at 
 the same time, rational information. The for- 
 mer ministers of France would certainly have 
 pursued a third course, that of a paternal govern- 
 ment, an economical retrenchment of the public 
 expenses, re-establishment of order in the finan- 
 ces, strict justice towards the people, a religious 
 adherence to promises and to public faith, and 
 a successive and gradual improvement. They 
 would have proceeded on the road which Francis 
 pursued, and successfully pursued till 1811. This 
 would, perhaps, have been the course most suitable 
 to the present interest of this vast collection of 
 provinces. 
 
 Metternich chooses according to his characterj 
 stemming the torrent by moral degradation. The 
 consequences are, universal detestation of Aus- 
 
156 
 
 POLITICAL STATE OF AUSTRIA, 
 
 tria among the nations of Europe, and a shyness 
 and silent hostih'ty, even on the part of other 
 courts, to associate with a poHcy so absolutely 
 devoid of honour and principle. Metternich now 
 stands alone and deserted, with his policy sup- 
 ported only by his armies, and his spies, and his 
 confederates. 
 
 Dazzling as Austria's power and policy may 
 appear in foreign countries, an observing travel- 
 ler, not entirely excluded from the higher circles, 
 will soon find out that Austria is nearer a crisis 
 than, perhaps, any other country. There will not 
 be a simultaneous rise, or a preconcerted plan, 
 to assert popular rights by force of arms ; the 
 provinces are too closely watched, and even too 
 much opposed to each other. The Bohemians 
 would not hesitate to march against the Hun- 
 garians, the Poles against the Italians, and the 
 Austrians against all of them, even in the pre- 
 sent time. But just such a minister, with his 
 withering system, destroying faith, honour, and 
 principle, squandering the treasures of the nation, 
 and crippling the resources of the German here- 
 ditary dominions, was destined to pave the road 
 to that very emancipation, which spreads more and 
 
CHARACTER OF METTERNTCH. 157 
 
 more throughout Europe : — at a time when the 
 proud Hungarians begin to be tired of farther en- 
 croachments, and to be ashamed of a policy and 
 of a government protected only from universal 
 contempt by its power and its intrigues. 
 
 Metternich is certainly a man of high talents, his 
 policy is dreadfully consistent, and never has there 
 existed a more dangerous enemy to human free- 
 dom ; but his knowledge is entirely superficial. 
 He is a very indifferent lawyer, and an absolute 
 idiot in financial matters. Indeed, the first step 
 in Austria, its double paper currency, convinces 
 one sufficiently that there is, certainly, not a worse 
 financial management in any country. His ac- 
 quirements are entirely those of a courtier, in the 
 worst sense of the word. A self-possession, un- 
 der the most trying and harassing circumstan- 
 ces; a sure and fine tact in judging characters; 
 an ease in gliding into the secrets and the confi- 
 dence of his superiors ; and, above all, an inimi- 
 table grace of lying, as they say, with an assu- 
 rance which it is not in the power of any human 
 being to disconcert, — are his principal charac- 
 teristics. During one of his coteries, or rather 
 courts, which he holds as regularly as the Empe- 
 
158 
 
 ANECDOTE OF METTERNICH. 
 
 ror does his grand and petit gala days, he ad^ 
 dressed himself to the Bavarian minister, in that 
 apropos manner for which he is so well known : 
 " Your King seems very fond of liberal ideas 
 The ambassador was puzzled, but did not reply. 
 " And of the Greeks too ?" No answer. " A 
 little more prudence would do no harm, or his 
 Bavarian Majesty will force us to reprisals not 
 likely to please him. You may inform your so- 
 vereign of this." 
 
 The new King of Bavaria had, just at this 
 time, introduced several liberal regulations; which, 
 with his open zeal in favour of the Greeks, dis- 
 pleased Metternich extremely. The ambassador 
 thought it his full duty to report these insinua- 
 tions to his sovereign. The incensed king sends 
 orders to his ambassador to address to Metternich 
 these words : " The King of Bavaria is, as sove- 
 reign, bound to no explanation except to God and 
 his conscience, and wishes Prince Metternich to 
 let him alone.*" 
 
 Metternich instantly despatched a courier to 
 Munich, expressing the utmost concern and as- 
 tonishment at receiving such a message, as he never 
 
ANECDOTE OF METTERNICH. 159 
 
 had, ill any manner, expressed the least opinion 
 respecting the measures of so wise a monarch ! 
 At the same time he complained, in bitter terms, 
 of the misrepresentations of the ambassador. 
 This nobleman was, of course, wrong ; he was re- 
 called, and another sent in his place. Where 
 such a policy is uppermost, an open opposition 
 would be folly. The nobility of the Austrian 
 empire feel it, and they pay both him and his 
 master in the same manner. 
 
160 
 
 AUSTRIAN 
 
 OLIGARCHY. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Austrian Aristocracy. — Viennese High Life. 
 
 The Austrian oligarchy is now, if not in a 
 state of disgrace with his Majesty, at least nearly 
 approaching to it ; and it may justly say, with 
 the Duke of Ormond, " that there could not be 
 any whose influence was smaller with kings and 
 ministers." The power which they enjoyed till 
 the year 1811> was that which the possession of 
 two-thirds of the landed property naturally gave 
 them : — a paramount influence in the councils 
 of war and the policy of the cabinet, with a 
 proper regard to their interest. 
 
 The nobility in this empire formed thus the 
 gradual transition by which the prostration of East- 
 ern slavery was linked to the greater freedom of the 
 
HUNGARY. 
 
 161 
 
 western world. The Emperor of Austria in his 
 German and Bohemian hereditary dominions is 
 considered an Autocrat as well as the Russian; 
 but while the latter may deprive the first family 
 of their rank and domains, the Austrian house, 
 whose founder was himself but a nobleman, and 
 who acquired his possessions not by conquest 
 but by marriage-titles and the concurrence of the 
 nobility, is rather ctiecked by them. This is still 
 more the case with Hungary. The present calm 
 state of the Empire was preceded by frequent re- 
 volts, in which the highest nobility were engaged. 
 The names of Waldstein, Schlick, Trangipary, 
 &c. are still dreadful recollections to the Imperial 
 family. Such, however, was the influence of 
 these families, that they kept possession of their 
 titles and estates, though the authors of these 
 revolts were punished with death. A prudent 
 management, on the part of the reigning family, 
 has attached them to the Imperial cause; and 
 their interests, blended with that of the House of 
 Austria, are in fact the strongest, and, we may 
 say, the only guarantee for the fidelity of the 
 different kingdoms. The present Emperor, in 
 that thoughtlessness and indifference towards the 
 real state of his Empire, which is the character- 
 
 M 
 
162 
 
 THE AUSTRIAN OLIGARCHY. 
 
 istic feature of his life since 1811, has really 
 cast aside this nobility. Their power is now in 
 the hands of Metternich. Whether an army is 
 to be sent to Naples, or the borders of Poland, 
 Metternich decides, as well as on the policy which 
 is to be pursued, and the degree of power which 
 Ministers and Provincial Governments are to en- 
 joy. They are reduced to a sort of gaudy or- 
 nament of the Imperial Court, and instruments 
 with which the pompous splendour and pride of 
 Austria, at home and abroad, is kept up. The 
 consequence of this supremacy was soon and 
 strikingly felt. Hardly was the power, as former- 
 ly enjoyed by the whole Austrian oligarchy, viz. 
 by the Hungarian, Bohemian, and German no- 
 blemen, engrossed wholly by Metternich, when 
 the Hungarian nobility and nation claimed their 
 rightful Constitution, and put themselves in an 
 attitude which little pleased his Majesty, and still 
 less his Prime Minister. 
 
 They resumed in fact their Constitution, which 
 had slept for a considerable time. While this was 
 done in Hungary, the Bohemian noblemen, who 
 cannot do the same, endeavoured gradually to 
 concentrate and to raise the national spirit by those 
 
THE AUSTRIAN OLIGARCHY. 163 
 
 means still left in their power, such as museums, 
 mathematical, technical, and economical schools. 
 The Emperor and his Prime Minister are well 
 aware of this select but dangerous opposition, 
 and of its tendency. They counteract it with the 
 same design and art which characterize the pre- 
 sent Austrian Cabinet. His son, the Archduke 
 Charles, the exact picture of his father, only more 
 pleasing in his appearance, was sent as Vice King 
 to Bohemia, both to concihate and to watch this 
 people. As Metternich keeps in Vienna a school 
 and court for the education and demoralization of 
 the nobility, so there are in every provincial ca- 
 pital one or more families of the highest rank, 
 who have the double part to counteract the op- 
 position as spies of Metternich, and as stimulat- 
 ing leaders to that dissipation and extravagance 
 which is supposed to draw the attention of the 
 nobility from public affairs and serious occu- 
 pation.(it) 
 
 Of the three hundred families who constitute 
 the oligarchy of this Empire, there are about an 
 hundred and fifty who in compliance with the 
 wishes of the Emperor, arising partly from jealous 
 policy, partly to give a due lustre to his Imperial 
 M 2 
 
164 
 
 THE AUSTRIAN OLIGARCHY. 
 
 head-quarters, reside in Vienna. They may be 
 considered as the representatives of the whole 
 nobility, intimately linked together. The fore- 
 most among them are the ducal families, about ten 
 in number ; among which those of the Lichten- 
 steins, Schwarzenbergs, Lobkowitz, Esterhazy,^*) 
 and Czatorysky, distinguish themselves. The heads 
 of these families, or, as they are called. Regents, 
 are born Knights of the Golden Fleece. They 
 have their regular courts ; some of them their 
 guards; all their privy and court counsellors, &c. 
 They live in a style little inferior to that of the 
 Emperor himself. To give an adequate idea of 
 the wealth of these powerful vassals, it is sufficient 
 to state that Prince Lichtenstein has not less 
 than 720,000 subjects or peasants on his do- 
 mains, and rides regularly from his two dukedoms, 
 forming two-thirds of Silesia, through Mora- 
 vian Austria, a distance of more than a hundred 
 miles on his own estates. Prince Esterhazy, 
 though encumbered with immense debts, has still 
 a revenue equal to that of the Kings of Bavaria, 
 Saxony, and Wurtemburg, taken together. 
 
 A medium between Sovereign and subject, 
 these families are treated, even by the Emperor, 
 
THE AUSTRIAN OLIGARCHY. 
 
 165 
 
 with a deference which a great influence with their 
 countrymen, especially if they are Hungarians, 
 and a vast income ever wring from a sovereign 
 like Francis. Next to them are the ancient 
 Hungarian, Bohemian, and Austrian Princes and 
 Counts. The Aristocracy of Great Britain ex- 
 cepted, there is none at present which has 
 so undisputed a claim to respectability. The 
 names of the Zinskys, Bothyanis, Nadasdys, 
 Starhembergs, Trona Sternbergs, and Dilrich- 
 steins, are intimately blended with the most bril- 
 liant periods of their national existence ; and 
 there is not a single ancient family, which derived 
 its titles in the manner in which not only the 
 Italian, but even many of the French nobility 
 originated. (^^) 
 
 Steadiness and an undeviatinc^ adherence to 
 principle deserve esteem, wherever they are to 
 be found ; and the pertinacity with which the 
 Austrian oligarchy, so dreaded by Napoleon, ad- 
 vised and fought through the wars against the 
 French demagogues and their leaders, for the 
 maintenance of their rights and principles, is 
 praiseworthy, though their exertions and sacri- 
 fices failed of success. They have fought for the 
 
166 
 
 THE AUSTRIAN OLIGARCHY. 
 
 same cause, in common with England. It is not 
 a little honourable to them, that during the period 
 when they advised and influenced their sovereign, 
 Austria's honesty was universally acknowledged 
 and respected, its policy trusted ; the country it- 
 self the asylum of the oppressed and persecuted ; 
 while, as soon as their influence was wholly en- 
 grossed by Metternich, this power became the 
 abomination of the civilized and moral world. 
 Loyal to their sovereign, the French Revolution 
 acted upon them as a powerful restorative ; and 
 the same families, who fifty years ago sent 
 for their linen to Paris, and fancied themselves 
 no noblemen if their wardrobes came not from 
 the same quarter, are now encouraging their coun- 
 trymen with a patriotism truly laudable. 
 
 If you ask, how they bear their present neg- 
 lect ? Just as independent and naturally power- 
 ful, but discarded noblemen, will do. There is 
 nothing to be seen or to be heard but urbanity 
 and politeness. They visit regularly (though with 
 many exceptions) the saloons of Metternich, and 
 he returns civilly their attentions. No scorn, no 
 hatred, no insinuations regarding an intruding 
 foreigner are to be heard of, save a bitter bill 
 
THE AUSTRIAN OLIGARCHY. 167 
 
 which he has to digest now and then. Any one 
 who is not a little deeper initiated in the state of 
 things, would suppose all well in the midst of a 
 social warfare conducted in the most polite forms. 
 They act fully as men who know whom they 
 have to deal with : a Minister, who with honey 
 on his lips and aqua tofaria in his heart, distri- 
 butes the first himself, and the latter through a 
 master, who, in the most familiar and fatherly 
 tone, will tell you the harshest things in the 
 world, and do them too. 
 
 The character of the present Government has 
 led many to be unjust towards every thing 
 Austrian, or, what is still worse, to confound 
 people and Government. There is as great a 
 difference between the needy German Baron, or 
 Count, who cringes to the Prime Minister, as 
 exists between the broken fortune-hunter and the 
 independent English gentleman. The barometer 
 of respectability of the Austrian oligarchy is, in 
 fact, the greater or less dependance upon and con- 
 nexion with Metternich himself. The Zero of mo- 
 ral worthlessness and absolute voidness of principle 
 and honour are the creatures and hands of Met- 
 ternich : the A ys in P — s ; the M — c— h de 
 
 V 
 
 \ 
 
168 THE AUSTRIAN OLIGARCHY. 
 
 B— n, in F— -t ; the C— n— , G— tz— , A—g, 
 in Vienna, &c. &c. &c. On the same niveau, are 
 the routs of Metternich's immediate fraternity; 
 
 libertines like T— f — K z, his own brother-in 
 
 law, &c. You will find in their circles, that per- 
 fect ease and sans gene of complete political and 
 moral roues, who by the author lie of sixteen sires, 
 and the chrouique scaiidaleuse of the whole of 
 Europe, have got that assurance which will never 
 expose them to a blush or an embarrassment, 
 even if their thoroughly- spoiled blood should ad- 
 mit of it. These circles are in fact the true pic- 
 tures of the French coteries in the times of Louis 
 XV., stained, however, with a grossness and 
 sensuality which characterise an Austrian de- 
 bauchee. 
 
 The sound part of the Aristocracy of the Au- 
 strian Empire is the national nobility, certainly 
 respectable. It has not that consciousness of real 
 importance and dignity which characterizes the 
 Enghsh, if we except the Hungarians, There is a 
 certain shifting bashfulness, or rather timidity, the 
 result of an oppressive system which never permits 
 any one to raise his head higher than is thought pro- 
 per : but they are not so frivolous, and are better in- 
 
THE AUSTRIAN OLIGARCHY. 
 
 169 
 
 formed than the French. Prince Sch warzenberg was 
 taken from his embassy at Paris, in 1811, to head an 
 armyX^O cojimanded the united Austrian, 
 
 Russian, Prussian, and German armies gloriously. 
 Not less so the Lichtensteins, father and son, the 
 Bubnas, Nostilz, Collorcdo, Shanfield, and Sher- 
 fields. It is fair to state, that the French, while 
 they execrated the Austrian government, acknow- 
 ledged the humanity of those Austrian command- 
 ing noblemen^ at a time when the unceasing 
 emptiness of the Imperial Treasury forced them 
 to imperative measures in the conquered Italian 
 and French provinces. It is easy for us in Eng* 
 land to speak of an independent conduct, and of 
 a manly resistance to despotism. But come see 
 and feel, and be horrorstruck, as you certainly 
 will be : your astonishment will not be the less, 
 how this nobility, standing as they are on the 
 alluvial quicksand of a shifting despotism, and 
 beleaguered with all that train of poisoning ma- 
 chinery, have still left a sense of honour and of 
 principle, to resist, partly open, partly silent, 
 the impending completion of their degradation. 
 There is not a monarchy, whose sovereigns, taken 
 in the whole, have done less for arts and sciences, 
 and the nobility more. We cannot expect from 
 
]70 
 
 AUSTRIAN ARTILLERY. 
 
 every nobleman the connoisseurship of Goethe, 
 Winkelman, or Bottiger ; but there is no capital 
 where the nobility have among them so man}^, 
 and such beautiful galleries and museums, as the 
 Austrian nobihty. The galleries of Lichtenstein, 
 Esterhazy, Lambert, Schwarzenberg, &c., are of 
 the first order. 
 
 The Austrian artillery is reckoned one of 
 the best in the world. Its officers are learn- 
 ed, solid, and respectable men. This corps 
 is indebted for its present perfection to one of 
 the Lichtensteins, who, at his own expense, (and 
 it was immense,) undertook and brought about 
 the reform of this corps. He established schools, 
 furnished books and instruments for the whole 
 artillery. The family of Schwarzenberg has an 
 economical and technical establishment at its 
 dukedom, Kruman, in Bohemia, which is sup- 
 ported with a princely liberality. Still more 
 important is the institution of Count Testelitz, 
 of which we shall speak at a subsequent period. 
 What the Sternbergs, Kollowrats, Ditrich steins, 
 Boaquois, are doing, is well known. The circles 
 of this class of the nobility^ even in Vienna, are 
 solid, true imitations of those of the court. As 
 in those too, every thing moves as regularly as 
 
AUSTRIAN HIGH-LIFE. 
 
 171 
 
 it did in the time of Leopold the First, save a 
 more pompous display of wealth, exhibited in 
 gorgeous show of diamonds and jewels. You 
 will find, in the circles of the nobility, an union 
 of every thing delightful, with that stateliness 
 and solidity which blend the ancient grandeur 
 with modern taste. The picture of Austrian 
 high life is less dazzling than the French, but it 
 is more solid. There is less extravagance, less 
 variety than in Paris, but infinitely more realitj^ 
 It is this steadiness which has preserved their 
 wealth, even through centuries, little impaired by 
 the late disasters ; while the French nobility and 
 that of the German states, are generally more or 
 less impoverished. 
 
 The French is still the favourite language, 
 not so much from an indifference to or scorn of 
 the native German, Hungarian, or Bohemian 
 languages, as from the necessity that is felt to 
 speak a tongue which is not understood by their 
 servants, and does not expose them to the danger of 
 every word being betrayed to the secret police. ('^) 
 
 French manners have, however, lost much of 
 their universal sway, though a tinge of them 
 is still visible throughout Vienna society. 
 
17^ 
 
 EDUCATION OF YOUTH. 
 
 The children of the Austrian nobility are almost 
 universally educated at home. Each family has at 
 least one tutor, generally a lawyer or a divine, 
 who has gone through the course of his studies. 
 This gentleman superintends the education of the 
 young members of the family. While the young 
 ladies take their lessons in religion, writing, draw- 
 ing, music, or dancing, the youths go through 
 their Latin, or other lessons, under the superinten- 
 dence of this tutor, or of competent masters, who 
 are sometimes public professors. After the lapse 
 of six months, the youths are publicly examined 
 by the professors of the Government, and ad- 
 vanced into a higher class. Even the philoso- 
 phical course is frequently completed at home in 
 this manner. Though these tutors cannot impart 
 what they have not themselves acquired, yet as 
 they are generally men of learning, and their 
 fortune depends entirely on the progress of their 
 pupils, young noblemen who are not condemn- 
 ed to the mere learning of their lessons by 
 memory, and who have a free literary range, be- 
 come more thoroughly instructed than the other 
 classes. 
 
 A solid family of the high nobility will rise 
 
HABITS OF THE NOBILITY. 
 
 173 
 
 early, — between six and eight o'clock, — if a ball or 
 a party of the preceding night has not encroached 
 on the morning. A cup or two of coffee, with a 
 small white roll (semmel), is the usual breakfast, 
 which is taken en famille, with the exception of 
 the youths, who breakfast and dine separately 
 with their tutors. The subsequent hours are 
 dedicated to business. The lord is engaged with 
 his privy or court-counsellor, or director of his 
 domains, in the current business, which takes from 
 two to three hours: the reading of English, 
 French, and German newspapers. (^9) xiie lady is 
 all the while busy in her apartments with the 
 supreme regulations of the household ; reading, 
 writing, drawing, and dressing. At twelve o'clock 
 the visiting hours begin. The lady either pays 
 or receives visits, in which, however, her husband 
 seldom participates. Their apartments are gene- 
 rally separate. As they keep separate carriages, 
 the lady takes her ride at two o'clock, either in the 
 company of her husband, or of her lady compa- 
 nion, in the Augarten, the Prater, or on the Glacis. 
 At three o'clock dinner is served, attended by 
 the whole family, except the youths, who are 
 only permitted to join them on a Sunday, with 
 their tutor. 
 
174 HABITS OF THE NOBILITY. 
 
 After dinner the regular ride is taken, and this is 
 followed by the tea-party, and fruits at six. The 
 theatre, or an evening party, for which the dress 
 is again changed, concludes the day. A court 
 gala, or a grand party, alters, of course, the order 
 of the day. The common hour of set dinners is 
 three. You are invited by cards ; and the invita- 
 tion is sent according to your rank, either eight or 
 two days before the dinner itself. On entering 
 the mansion of the nobleman, a Swiss will ring 
 the bell : — if you are a prince, thrice ; if a count 
 or baron, twice ; and if a simple nobleman or gen- 
 tleman, but once. On the staircase, two jagers 
 (footmen) in rich liveries, with broad hangers and 
 epaulettes, are waiting. They open the doors. One 
 of them takes your hat and conducts you through 
 an enfilade of splendid rooms to the boudoir of the 
 lady, announcing your name and your character. 
 You are received by her sitting, with a bow, 
 and the four words, ? sie siiid well kommen r 
 
 (N — , you are welcome,) and if you are on terms of 
 intimacy with the family, you are allowed to kiss 
 her hand. You enter into conversation with the 
 gentlemen or ladies present for some minutes. The 
 doors open, and the steward announces dinner. 
 The party generally consists of an equal numbei' 
 
HABITS OF THE NOBILITY. 
 
 175 
 
 of each sex; the gentleman takes his partner, with 
 whom he walks to the dining-room. There may 
 be twelve, twenty, or forty guests ; but the party 
 is never thirteen. The first place at the round 
 table is occupied by the hostess. Each guest has 
 assigned his place, so that a lady is always be- 
 tween two gentlemen, and so vice versa. The num- 
 ber of courses after soup, is three. The first con- 
 sists regularly of a haunch of deer, followed by 
 sausages and some stimulating delicacies; boiled 
 beef succeeds, with fricassees, puddings, and fish. 
 The second course consists of roasted pheasants, 
 roe, and fowls : the third, of the dessert. It is 
 fashionable to eat quick ; and the twelve or fif- 
 teen dishes which compose the three courses, dis- 
 appear in three quarters of an hour. Carving and 
 helping is, of course, wholly done by the servants. 
 The beverages are exquisite. At the beginning of 
 the dinner, you are asked what sort of wine you 
 prefer. Generally a hght Rhenish, or Hun- 
 garian Buda wine, mixed with water, is the com- 
 mon table beverage. When beef is served, a 
 glass of Malaga is handed round ; at the be- 
 ginning of the second course, old Johannisberger, 
 Rudesheim, or Steinwein ; the third course is 
 accompanied by a tumbler of Champagne; and the 
 
176 
 
 HABITS OF THE NOBILITY. 
 
 dessert itself is crowned by a liqueur glass of the 
 emperor of wines, the spirited Tokay. Toasts or 
 healths are not fashionable, except on public oc- 
 casions. The whole dinner takes not more than one 
 hour, after which the company rise ; each guest 
 pays the usual respect to the hostess and each 
 member of tlie company, with a bow ; and the same 
 partners conduct the ladies to the next room, 
 where coffee, with liqueurs of Trieste and Italy, 
 is served round : the ladies sitting, the gentlemen 
 standing, or as they choose. A conversation of 
 a quarter of an hour ensues ; and those not in- 
 vited for the evening party disappear incogniti, 
 without bidding farewell to host or hostess. 
 
 An invitation for spending the day with the 
 family, is succeeded by a party to the Prater. If 
 you arrive in a hackney coach, — viz. if you have 
 no carriage of your own, — you ride out in the 
 carriage of the host, who follows that of his 
 wife In whatever part of the town you may 
 have dined, if it be on a Sunday, you must drive 
 to the Graben, or St. Stephen's Cliurch, in order 
 to join the immense line of carriages which runs 
 from thence, through the Prater to the town. 
 To go out or to go into this line, of not less than 
 
HABITS OF THE NOBILITY. 
 
 177 
 
 three miles in length, is impossible, and against the 
 order. Even the Imperial family move slowly on 
 in this Corso, behind a hackney-coachman or an 
 honest burgher, who drives his cabriolet filled 
 with viands of every sort, to this paradise of 
 worldly pleasure. A more imposing, entertaining, 
 and varied sight than this scene cannot be imagin- 
 ed. Close behind the magnificent state coach of 
 the Empress, drives a Vienna Zieselwagen, a sort 
 of ludicrous and favourite conveyance with the 
 lower classes of Vienna. This is a strange specimen 
 of locomotion, loaded with no less strange occupants, 
 and hams, wine-flaggons, and every thing neces- 
 sary to the Viennese, This is followed again by an 
 elegant phaeton, or a light carriage of an Hungarian 
 or JBohemian nobleman, with his hussars or jagers 
 in their gorgeously splendid liveries ; while the 
 Emperor, with his worthy grand-chamberlain, the 
 Count of Wobna, drives in a simple unassuming 
 caleche. Behind him you see a foreign ambassador, 
 who is again succeeded by a wealthy Mussulman 
 merchant, a grave, proud, and immoveable per- 
 sonage, surrounded by Moors. The whole moves on 
 in a solemn manner, and with a magnificence far 
 surpassing every other spectacle of the kind. The 
 alleys to the right and left are filled with horse- 
 
 N 
 
178 
 
 HABITS OF THE NOBILITY. 
 
 men, among whom you may distinguish the Hun- 
 garians out of thousands, by their noble carriage, 
 and by their being very superior riders. The 
 alleys adjoining these two are filled with a 
 well-fed sort of burghers, inferior officers, and 
 tradesmen of the lower classes, who, since their 
 meal, which they took at twelve o'clock and 
 which lasted till two, have again during half an 
 hour''s walk got an appetite ; which may suffi- 
 ciently account for the 80,000 head of cattle, 
 67,000 calves, 120,000 lambs, and 7^,000 hogs, 
 which are annually swilled down by these 800,000 
 people, with the assistance of 200,000 pipes 
 of Austrian wine. Unconcerned about the jokes 
 of the fashionables, and even of the Emperor, 
 who takes a sort of pride in the sans gene of 
 his subjects on this occasion, they will sit 
 down on the green grass-plots on the lawns, 
 and enjoy their hearty luncheon, with an appe- 
 tite as if they had not seen any food for two 
 days. On both sides of the fine alleys, circuses 
 and numberless restaurateurs, with groups of 
 wandering musicians, enliven the scenery, while 
 hundreds of merchants' clerks and burghers'* sons 
 betake themselves, with their paramours, to the 
 lawns and the defiles of this beautiful park, in 
 order to get out of sight of the thousands whom 
 
HABITS OF THE NOBILITY. 
 
 179 
 
 fair weather, a good vintage, and, above all, the 
 presence of their dearly beloved Kaj/se?',^ has as- 
 sembled here ; a motley crew of unthinking people, 
 who will fly to arms with the same thoughtless- 
 ness as they now sit quietly about their masticat- 
 ing affairs. At six o'clock you return from the 
 promenade with your host to his mansion, Avhere 
 your Jiacre, in case you have no carriage of your 
 own, is waiting to carry you back to your lodg- 
 ings. The time between six and eight, is filled 
 up with your toilette for the ensuing ball. A 
 black frock, with silk breeches, stockings of the 
 same cblour and material, maroquin shoes, and 
 very small golden buckles, are your dress. You 
 repair to the noble entertainer's at eight o'clock. 
 Again the same ringing of the bell, the same re- 
 ception by the stately Swiss, with his gold fringed 
 hat and great coat. Two servants are posted at 
 the foot of the staircase, holding flambeaux, whose 
 flickering light, together with that of a vast lamp, 
 shows you the way to the apartments. Your 
 servant delivers in the antechamber your hat and 
 your cabotte or great coat, for which he receives 
 a billet with a number, the same which is affixed 
 to your deposited goods. Again you pass through 
 * Emperor. 
 
180 
 
 HAlilTS OF THE NOBILITY. 
 
 the enfilade of rooms to the boudoir of the hos- 
 tess, where you find part of tlie company already 
 assembled. It is not fashionable to arrive too 
 soon ; it is good manners to be too late. The 
 number of the fair dancing candidates will be 
 between thirty and forty, with an equal number 
 of gentlemen. These, with the steady old people 
 who form the whist and omhre parties, are as- 
 sembled in the boudoir and the adjoining rooms. 
 Refreshments, consisting chiefly of fruits, are 
 served up, and before a quarter of an hour elapses, 
 the door of the dancing saloon is thrown open, 
 and a profusion of lights, with a powerful salute 
 from the orchestra, fill your eyes and ears, and 
 give the signal for the ball. Each party is ar- 
 ranged, and in case you should be an entire 
 stranger, the hostess will introduce you to a fair 
 companion, under the auspices of the marshal de 
 danse. It is generally the dancing-master of the 
 house who holds this office. The partners proceed 
 through the rooms to the saloon, which with the 
 adjoining apartments is splendidly lighted. The 
 orchestra is placed on a gallery in the background 
 of the saloon, consisting of from fifteen to twenty 
 instruments. It opens with a polonaise, followed by 
 a cotillon, which is repeated twice. It was at 
 
HABITS OF THE NOBILITY. 
 
 181 
 
 the ball given by C 1 F-^ n that 1 first saw 
 
 the beautiful chain-dance. On a sudden three 
 powerful notes burst from the orchestra, the signal 
 for this inimitable dance. A pause of about half a 
 minute is occupied by the sound of a dozen cas- 
 tagnettesy and by the stamping and clapping of 
 the hands of the partners, the signal for the form- 
 ing of the chain, which with its windings con- 
 tinues unbroken till each gentleman finds his 
 partner. A quick stamping and clapping of the 
 hands, accompanied again by the castagnettes 
 from the orchestra, and a powerful accord^ 
 changes the chain into the slow waltz ; after 
 which the dance grows quicker, and changes into 
 the waltz, and finally into the German or Dutch 
 figure. (^°) The whole is performed with such in- 
 imitable grace, lightness, and absence of every 
 studied air, and with such an elegance as made 
 it indeed one of the finest specimens of a dance 
 I ever witnessed. The ball continues with 
 waltzes and cotillons. The rooms from the 
 dancing saloon to the boudoir, are occupied 
 with card-tables, where whist and ombre are 
 played. Splendid buffets with the most exquisite 
 dainties, decorated with a profusion of flowers, 
 spring up from the corners of the adjoining room. 
 
18S 
 
 HABITS OF THE NOBILITY. 
 
 At twelve o^clock supper is served. The ladies 
 are led in a polonaise by their partners to the 
 dining-room, and occupy their chairs according to 
 the cards on which their names are put. A cup 
 of soup is handed round by the servants, after 
 which, the usual fricassees and roasted varieties of 
 every description follow : the whole in a splendid 
 style. The dance is resumed at one oVlock and 
 continues till three. At this time the crowed be- 
 gins to thin. The card-tables lose their occu- 
 pants, and the fair dancers are enveloped by their 
 jagers and hussars in their shawls and pelisses, 
 and conveyed, under the superintendence of their 
 papa and mamma, or an aunt, to the carriages in 
 waiting. Only the intimate acquaintance hold 
 out till four, and these take formal leave of each 
 other ; the whole is conducted with the greatest 
 propriety. 
 
 Nothing, however, is more delightful than an 
 evening party in a private circle. You assemble 
 for this occasion immediately after tea, which is 
 regularly taken at six o'clock. Some refresh- 
 ments, such as pine-apples, grapes, &c. are handed 
 round. The whist, quadrille,^ or ombre tables, 
 are arranged, and the company sit down to play. 
 
HABITS OF THE KOBII.ITY. 183 
 
 During the play a band performs tunes of Mo- 
 zart's, Weber's, and Rossini's operas; and if there 
 are daughters in the family, whom their friends 
 are coming to see, a dance is arranged before you 
 are aware. There is in every house not only 
 the music -master, but at least two or three 
 servants, who are excellent performers. Their 
 rooms not being carpeted, but parquetted and 
 polished with wax, are at any time ready for 
 this occasion. It is in these evening parties, 
 that the amiable and fascinating character of the 
 high classes of the Austrian empire shines out 
 in all its charms. The sans gene, the modesty, 
 the true nobleness and simplicity which develope 
 themselves in these circles and occasional dances, 
 show that these people are more fitted than any 
 other to enjoy the pleasures of life. They give 
 happiness to their guests, and try to make every 
 one round them happy too. It is impossible 
 for any one to be more at his ease and at 
 home than in these circles, especially those of the 
 Hungarian nobles. There is no suspicion, no 
 constraint, no fear — nothing of this kind ; for the 
 Hungarian feels, and he feels justly, what he is ; 
 and that his ancient constitution and personal 
 liberty are not only written on paper, but in 
 
184 
 
 HUNGARIAN CHARACTEil. 
 
 the hearts of 10,000,000 of countrymen, fearless 
 of the E niperor and his Metternich. The conver- 
 sation during dinner turns on every subject: 
 pohtics, anecdotes, a httle of the chroiiique scarida- 
 leuse — especially if the prime minister is its ob- 
 ject, who is treated here with much less cere- 
 mony than any where else. The anecdotes are 
 mostly relating to the Hungarians themselves; 
 and the noble, unsuspecting, and undissembling 
 character of this most interesting and least of 
 all known nations, makes them sometimes com- 
 mit blunders, which partake very much of the 
 Irish character. Among the many which were 
 dished up one may suffice. An Hungarian wished 
 to see the prospect of Vienna from the steeple of 
 St. Stephen. Seven hundred steps lead to the 
 second gallery. The turnkey was not at home ; 
 and his wife being pregnant, begged him to stay 
 awhile for the return of her husband. " What 
 time,'' asked the Hungarian, in broken German, 
 and with a significant look at the woman, " will it 
 iakeT (meaning to ascend the steeple.) The 
 woman, referring his question to the pecuhar state 
 of her corpulency, replied " Five days." " Five 
 
 days!" exclaimed the Hungarian; G dd n ! 
 
 " in five days I must be in Ketshemet and away 
 
HUNGARIAN CHARACTER. 
 
 185 
 
 he flew, glad not to have satisfied his curiosity at 
 five days' expense. 
 
 1"; 
 
 To all these stories our landlord himselfy an 
 Hungarian nobleman, listened with the best hu- 
 mour in the world. At last, half smiling, half 
 serious, he said : Why wonder that we are not 
 what we could and should be? On one side we 
 see the Turks, on the other the Austrians : how 
 can it be otherwise ? My countryman was right 
 not to look from the steeple top." The joke was 
 well received, except by the stately, but respected 
 and honest Colonel of an Hungarian regiment, 
 who was obliged to frown ex officio. The Hunga- 
 rian, however, cares nothing about frowns or smiles 
 even those of the Emperor. We had an instance 
 of it in our hotel, the Swan. 
 
 Young pork with horse radish, and sausages 
 with mustard, and Austrian wine, is a favourite 
 breakfast in Vienna, called Grenjieish, We took 
 it every day, and went for this purpose down 
 into the coffee-room. It was the very day when 
 public festivities, in honour of the restoration of 
 the Emperor, were celebrated. Three Hungarian 
 noblemen stalked in, attired in their national 
 
186 
 
 ANECDOTE OF HUNGAEIANS. 
 
 costume — crimson-coloured corsets, with light 
 breeches, hussar-boots with tassels of gold bul- 
 lion, and the pelisse hanging from their shoulders. 
 They took off their sabres and halpachs, and 
 demanded three bottles of Rhenish, and six of 
 Austrian wine. The humble vintner was rather 
 startled at their demand ; but obeyed with an 
 Austrian obsequiousness. " A basin !" said an 
 elderly stern-looking cavalier. It was brought. 
 " Pour the six bottles of Austrian wine into the 
 basin !" proceeded the same gentleman. It was 
 done. " Put the three bottles of Hungarian 
 wine into the water!" "But, your grace!"" 
 replied the trembling vintner, " it is not water ; 
 it is the best Bisamberger wine, from the growth 
 of 1811 !" " Put it in,'' said he, "and get you 
 gone !'' Every eye was turned towards the bold 
 cavaliers, who, in one of the first hotels, dared 
 thus to show their contempt for Austria. A few 
 minutes afterwards three more joined them ; and 
 now they brought out the healths. ' Maria The- 
 resa !' was roared out; ' Vivat ! VivatP replied 
 the five others. ' To our Kh/g ! — Constitutional F 
 added the next. ' Constitutional P echoed the other 
 five. The whole was transacted in so serious 
 a manner, and with such a dignity, or rather 
 
POLITICAL DISCUSSIONS. 
 
 18T 
 
 severity, as it is impossible to describe. Not a 
 smile, not a glance at the present guests; alone 
 they sat— alone they spoke; silently they paid 
 for their breakfast and bottles, six of which re- 
 mained in the basin ; and away they went, with 
 that firm, martial, and measured step, which 
 shook the tables, tumblers, and windows of the 
 massive building. 
 
 It is in the circles of the nobihty, and the 
 wealthier class of bankers, that you will find 
 a certain degree of political freedom and liberty 
 of speech, newspapers, and, as they are called, 
 
 Verhotene Buchery'' (prohibited books,) in every 
 tongue. There are no political saloons of libe- 
 rals, as there are in Paris, except the very high- 
 est families of the nobility ; where, however, none 
 but the most intimate and confidential friends are 
 admitted : but during a dancing, a dining, or 
 whist party, some couples of gentlemen will 
 loose themselves from the table, and step just 
 occasionally into the next room ; or a letter 
 received from Paris or London — of course not 
 through the post — will glide from hand to hand, 
 in that imperceptible way which Metternich has 
 taught them. That is the way to concert in 
 
188 
 
 POLITICAL I^JTllIGUES. 
 
 Austria, measures, plans, and even something 
 more — ^in the midst of pleasures and gaiety. 
 They are forced into this ; as the Emperor^ 
 though far from being a Caesar, acts fully on his 
 principle with respect to his subjects, — and thinks 
 himself and his family secure as long as his sub- 
 jects are dancing and singing. 
 
PUBLIC OFFICERS. 
 
 189 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 Public Officers. — Lower Classes. — The City of Vienna con- 
 sidered in an architectural point of view. — Public Wor- 
 ship. — Bias of the Viennese. — Public Institutions. — 
 Austrian Codex. — Medical Science. — Character of its 
 Literati. — Public Journals. — Grillpatzer. — Austrian 
 Censorship. — Theatres. — Concluding Remarks. 
 
 There is not a less popular government in 
 Europe; one where people, and government, and 
 its officers, are more virtually separated. There 
 is no class of citizens, in any place, under 
 more restraint than the public functionaries in 
 Vienna. (^^) They are, in the midst of gaiety and 
 of sensual uproar, tied fast to their writing-desks, 
 working, watching, and watched. Vienna is the 
 seat of all the ministries, presidencies, and aulic 
 tribunals, with several hundreds of aulic coun- 
 sellors, and thousands of inferior employts. A 
 Counsellor of the Court is an important personage- 
 
190 
 
 PUBLIC OFFICERS. 
 
 he has the referat, as it is called, of several pro- 
 vinces and kingdoms, with the rank of General-ma- 
 jor : — the junior has a pay of 5000, for Austria, a 
 very respectable sum, the elder of 6000 florins, 
 (500 and 600/. sterling) but you will very seldom 
 meet one of them in the circles of high or middle- 
 life, unless he be a nobleman of rank, or a 
 bachelor who cares not much about preferment. 
 It is not the mere want of a diploma, or of a suffi- 
 cient income, which debars them from these cir- 
 cles, but the well-known pleasure of the Emperor. 
 To intermix in the society or in the pleasures of the 
 gay city, would be a sure veto to their advance- 
 ment. " I want steady men for my aulic counsellors, 
 who visit regularly their bureau, and keep hours," 
 replied his Majesty, when B n V n, a fa- 
 shionable but able young man, was proposed to 
 him for this station ; and accordingly his officers 
 are obliged to comply with the hint. The well- 
 known G — — tz, the author of the Austrian 
 manifestoes and the most important articles in 
 the Austrian Observer, was several times proposed 
 to his Majesty for a Counsellor of the State, and 
 recommended even by Metternich. He keeps 
 a mistress," was the Emperor's reply, " and has 
 three children by her ;" and all these united 
 
PUBLIC OFFICERS. 
 
 191 
 
 endeavours were in vain. A Counsellor of the 
 State, whose rank is next to that of a minister, is 
 still less to be seen in company. With his ap- 
 pointment to this high station is coupled the 
 silent condition of his retirement from society. 
 
 As the Emperor has an exact account of the 
 domestic affairs of his public ofBcers, they cannot 
 move a single step without its being betrayed to 
 the police and to the Emperor ; and while he 
 almost forces the high and low classes of his 
 subjects into dissipation and thoughtlessness, he 
 wants his officers to be steady and sober. There 
 
 was the p — » — hp Prince R y, who entangled 
 
 the daughter of the aulic counsellor, S z 
 
 into a love-affair, by means of an ogling correspon- 
 dence carried on from his windows. The young 
 lady fell love-sick, and became silly. The Emperor 
 was informed of it, and the prince summoned 
 before the monarch ; " Prince," said the Emperor 
 in a stern voice, " I wish you to understand 
 that the daughters of my Court-counsellors are 
 no fit objects for your gallantry. There are 
 plenty in Vienna." The prince had to pay 
 for his intrigue a fine of 15,000 florins, 150C7. 
 sterling. 
 
PUBLIC OFFICERS. 
 
 Still severer lies the hand of the Emperor on 
 his soldiers. Disgusting as the military airs of the 
 Prussians are to every one who looks to some- 
 thing more than military parades and uniforms, 
 yet an Austrian officer is a painful sight. He is 
 kept in a state of obedience approaching to de- 
 gradation. Nothing can be more humble than 
 an Austrian officer in Vienna ; even the innate 
 pride of the Hungarian here dies away. The 
 pay of the Austrian officer is a trifle, and if he 
 have not resources of his own, his scanty means 
 exclude him not only from every entertainment, 
 but it is impossible for him to live in a decent 
 style. To make up this insufficiency, his 
 lodgings are paid by the Government at half 
 price, — of course no landlord is over-delighted at 
 a military inmate; his meat is delivered to him 
 by the growling butcher, equally at half price. 
 Theatres and public entertainments are open to 
 him for about a third of the common price; and 
 as all these mending patches were still insufficient, 
 they added to his emoluments, fuel, and half a 
 loaf of commission bread, as it is called ; a bread 
 which no English horse would taste. 
 
 Vienna is garrisoned by 12,000 men, two re> 
 
THE HUNGARIAN GRENADIERS. 
 
 193 
 
 giments of infantry, six battalions of grenadiers, 
 one regiment of artillery, and one of dragoons. 
 Of the infantry, the tall, brawny, and hardy 
 Hungarian grenadiers, in their fur bonnets, white 
 jackets, and blue embroidered pantaloons, are by far 
 the handsomest. With the exception of the Eng- 
 lish foot-guards, these troops, since the immolation 
 of the Imperial French guard at Waterloo, are, 
 without doubt, the finest troops, in Europe. Nei- 
 ther the Russian nor the Prussian grenadiers can 
 be put in comparison with them. The Austrian 
 infantry are too plain, and rather poorly dressed 
 in white. The dragoons are simple, but ex- 
 tremely noble-looking fellows. Their cocked hel- 
 mets, tasteful white jackets and pantaloons, high 
 boots, with their broad-swords and carbines, are 
 infinitely superior to the gaudy frippery of the 
 Hungarian hussars. Nothing, however, can be 
 conceived more tasteless than the Austrian artillery 
 uniforms. Their drab-coloured jackets and pan- 
 taloons, their hats with flaps turned up, one 
 might suppose to be the livery of an impove- 
 rished country nobleman, rather than of the 
 virtually best troops in the Austrian army. The 
 bands, however, of all these regiments and troops 
 are superior to every thing of their kind. Their 
 
194 CHAHACTER OF THE VIENNESE. 
 
 music is electrifying beyond description. If I 
 
 want to hear music," said Professor 
 
 in Berlin, at the representation of Spontini's 
 " Olympia,'' " I go to Austria. The march of 
 their bands is worth the whole opera."" 
 
 The character of the great mass of the inha- 
 bitants is wofully changed within the last sixteen 
 years. The Viennese were always reputed a sensual 
 thoughtless sort of beings, content if they could 
 enjoy a drive in their Zeiselwagen into the Prater, 
 with their wine and roast-meat. But their honesty, 
 kindness, and sincerity were proverbial, and Na- 
 poleon himself gave them proofs of his esteem. 
 He left them in the possession of their arms, and 
 of their arsenal. Since the year 1811, the 10,000 
 Nadlers or Pinners, as the secret spies of Vienna 
 are called, have done their work. Taken from the 
 lower classes of society, tradesmen, servants, me- 
 chanics, prostitutes, they form a confederacy in Vi- 
 enna which winds like the red silk thread in the 
 British navy through all the intricacies of social 
 life. There is scarcely a word spoken in Vienna 
 which they do not hear. There is no precaution pos- 
 sible, and even if you bring your own servants, if 
 they be not staunch Englishmen, with a sufficient 
 
CHARACTER OF THE VIENNESE. 195 
 
 stock of pride and contempt towards the Viennese 
 themselves, in less than a fortnight they will 
 involuntarily prove your traitors. The character 
 of the Viennese has become what might be expected 
 under such circumstances. As the Government has 
 taken every care to debar them from serious or 
 intellectual occupation, the Prater, the Glacis, the 
 coffee-houses, the Leopoldstadt tlieatre, are the 
 only objects of their thoughts and desires. These 
 they must attain, and if they cannot accomplish 
 this by honourable means, they enlist among the 
 ten thousand nadlers, from whom they receive their 
 weekly ducat. 
 
 A Wiener Frecht, a Vienna sprig, goes even in 
 Austria for the ne phis ultra of frivolity, thought- 
 lessness, and sensuality. Proud as a Frenchman 
 is to have been brought up in Paris, or to be 
 thought a Parisian, the Hungarian, Bohemian, 
 Pole, or Italian, would be little flattered to 
 be taken for a Viennese. But let us be just : 
 what they are, they have been made by tlieir 
 masters ; what is left them, is entirely their own 
 — a kind heart, an unbounded hospitality, and an 
 obsequiousness which seems to bespeak the con- 
 sciousness of their own inferiority and degrada- 
 o 2 
 
196 
 
 VIENNA. 
 
 tion. The Viennese thinks himself infinitely ho- 
 noured if you drink his wine or eat his dinner, 
 " Belieben Euer Graden unsern sitz nehmen : 
 Please your grace to take our seat ?" said a well- 
 dressed gentleman with his lady, who occupied 
 one of the locked seats in the pit, and heard us 
 conversing in the English language ; and when told 
 that we had just come from our box, he asked 
 whether we would not confer the favour on him to 
 dine at his house, as he was very fond of hearing 
 the English spoken. Though you will never 
 hear good sense or a serious word, yet these people 
 show themselves as they are, without the least 
 ostentation or pride. Their faults are those of 
 thoroughly-spoiled children, kept in ignorance of 
 their rights by a demoralizing guardian, who 
 wishes to prolong his tutorship. 
 
 Vienna, considered as a city, is neither the vast 
 London, nor the beautiful Paris. It is neither 
 the elegant Berlin, nor the gorgeous St. Peters- 
 burgh. It is the massive head-quarters of a mas- 
 sive Government, and of a naturally powerful 
 oligarchy. In nobleness it is inferior to Ve- 
 nice; to Milan in beauty; to Prague in pictu- 
 
BUILDIl^GS IN VIENNA. 
 
 197 
 
 resque effect; and to Buda, in its situation. 
 What Vienna is, it has become gradually, almost 
 without the assisting hand of the Government ; if 
 we except the present Emperor, who indeed 
 seems to have intended to give his capital a more 
 uniform aspect. But, except his happy idea of 
 buying and pulling down the shops which sur- 
 rounded the cathedral, his other embellishments, 
 the Technological Institution, the New Bank and 
 Gate, bear the same tame character which is 
 visible throughout. A refined taste, with a little 
 ' vigour into the bargain, might have given to 
 Vienna quite another character, and secured the 
 legs and limbs of the curious foreigner; who, 
 if he be doomed here to walking, may learn 
 better than any where else, to mind his legs. 
 This, however, would interfere with ancient 
 rights ; and though the Austrian Government is 
 not over scrupulous in the use of the scalping-knife 
 in matters more vital, yet these things remain as 
 they are. 
 
 Of the hundred and ten streets which cross 
 Vienna in a circumference of three miles, (^') most 
 of them are narrow, all of them crooked, but they 
 
198 
 
 BUILDINGS IN VIENNA. 
 
 are well paved, and lined with massive palaces and 
 palace-like houses, the huge dimensions of which 
 bid defiance to every thing of a similar nature. 
 
 There is the house of Count Stahremberg, a pre- 
 sent of the Emperor to this family for the gallant 
 defence of Vienna against the Turks, inhabited by 
 more than 2000 people. The palaces of the Arch- 
 duke Charles, the Princes Licliten stein, Lobko- 
 witz, Sell war zenberg, Esterhazy, &c. yield to it 
 in the number of their inhabitants, but not in 
 size. In every by-path, in every corner, your 
 eye is struck with some huge palace of a noble- 
 man. As the houses of the citizens correspond 
 exactly in height with those of the nobility, they 
 present on the whole an immense and imposing mass 
 of stately and colossal buildings, interrupted here 
 and there by moderate apertures, which they call 
 squares : of these the Joseph's Place is the no- 
 blest, and the Grabeii the gayest. Wherever you 
 happen to be, the spire of St. Stephen is your guide, 
 and regulates your wanderings through the in- 
 tricate mazes. It was, with its church, begun in the 
 year 1171, one of the grandest monuments of Go- 
 thic architecture; visibly, however, influenced by 
 
CATHEDRAL OF VIENNA. 
 
 199 
 
 the Moorish taste, which prevailed at this time. 
 The Strasbourg Minster is more airy ; the Milan 
 Cathedral nobler and more splendid ; but the 
 Viennese is the more awfully grand. The eye gazes 
 with astonishment at these gigantic arches, spring- 
 ing up to such an enormous height, yet all in the 
 .interior is dark and sombre. The light which 
 dimly shines through the painted glass-windows 
 is hardly sufficient to distinguish objects. It is 
 a true representation of the character of the dark 
 age in which this temple sprang up ; when God 
 and his world were enveloped in darkness, and 
 only known through the painted medium of the 
 Roman Pontiff and his suite. On the outside 
 of the doors, indulgences were affixed, promis- 
 ing to the credulous attendants at divine ser- 
 vice, at Maria Stieger, an indulgence of forty 
 days. 
 
 Though this church holds the first rank among 
 the fourteen capital churches, which, together with 
 forty smaller ones, receive the pious ; yet that of 
 the Augustine monks is the Aulic church. It 
 contains the embalmed hearts of the Emperors, 
 and the mausoleum of the Archduchess Chris- 
 
200 
 
 SPLENDOUR OF THE 
 
 tina, sufficiently known not to need any far- 
 tlier description. A grand mass heard in this 
 church, the music of which is the most celebrated 
 in Vienna, is more than any thing else adapted to 
 give an idea of Catholicism and catholic worship. 
 Before the altar are the priest and his assistants, 
 dressed in gaudy robes, with a number of priest- 
 lings, incensing, bowing, and dancing attendance, 
 with an alertness which shows any thing but piety, 
 and contrasts strangely with the simplicity and 
 dignity of our Protestant worship. Four or five 
 bells are incessantly ringing from the side-altars, 
 where other priests hurry over their masses, sur- 
 rounded by standing and kneeling devotees, who 
 perform their Sunday duty of hearing a mass. 
 The priest who is able to do it in the shortest 
 time, about twelve minutes, is surrounded by the 
 greatest crowd. In the pews, which run up on 
 both sides of the aisles, the fashionable world is 
 seated ; and in the open space of the nave, are the 
 dandies of Vienna, walking to and fro, ogling, 
 holding conversations, not only with their eyes, 
 but even viva voce. There is a bustle, a running, 
 a crossing, a noise, which excites any thing but 
 serious reflection, and is only overpowered by 
 
CATHOLIC WORSHIP. 
 
 201 
 
 the powerful notes of the organ, and the score 
 of instruments which pour forth their dehcious 
 sounds. As soon as the concert, either vocal or 
 instrumental, is over, the whole crowd hasten 
 to the doors, leaving priest, divine service, every 
 thing, to do its business unmolested and alone. 
 Before the mass is half finished, the church 
 has lost two-thirds of its inmates. Still fewer 
 attend the sermon ; not more than twenty-five 
 persons of the thousands who, an hour before, 
 crow^ded the church. Can we wonder any longer 
 that the Cathohc church produces more infidels 
 than the Protestant creed ? 
 
 A concert in the Argyll Rooms, or even at Co- 
 vent Garden, is far more calculated to excite a se- 
 rious thought than this mock service. But it is fair 
 to state, that this is only the case with a few of the 
 privileged churches, as the}^ are called, selected 
 by the fashionables for their rendezvous. But 
 among these at the church of the Augustine monks 
 and at St, Michael's church, you will seldom 
 meet a nobleman of high standing, unless he 
 be of the Prime Minister's school. The rest of 
 the churches are attended by a steadier class. 
 
202 
 
 A SUNDAY AT VIENNA. 
 
 and for better purposes. The garrison march 
 in battalions to their respective churches, hear 
 mass and a sermon, and return again in a 
 body. The civil officers are equally anxious 
 to perform their Christian duty ; and the lower 
 classes are crowding into the church of Maria 
 au den Sliegen, to hear Father Werner and 
 Co.'s sermons. The hundreds of bells which are 
 ringing . from six till twelve o'clock, with the 
 glittering equipages rolling in every direction, are 
 the only sounds to be heard on a Sunday morning. 
 The good people of Vienna, however, make 
 amends for this loss of time after dinner : from 
 three o'clock till eleven the city is literally in a 
 musical and sensual uproar. Wherever you go, 
 the sound of musical instruments will reach your 
 ears. Whatever family of the middle class you en- 
 ter, the pianoforte is the first object which strikes 
 your eyes ; you are hardly seated, and a flaggon 
 filled with wine, another with water, and Pres 
 burgh biscuit placed before you, when the host 
 will tell Caroline to play a tune to the gentle- 
 man. To play is their pride, and in that con- 
 sists chiefly the education of the middle classes. 
 Children begin in their fourth and fifth year, and 
 
FONDNESS OF THE VIENNESE FOR MUSIC. ^03 
 
 are pretty proficients in their sixth. A new opera 
 of Rossini in the Karthneethor theatre will, 
 with these good people, produce quite as much 
 and even more excitement than the opening of the 
 Parliament in London. Their opera is, however, 
 splendid, and Mozart's Zauberflote (magic flute) 
 or Don Juan, heard in the Karthneethor theatre, 
 is a delicious enjoyment. The ballets in the 
 same are inferior to the Parisian. How little 
 propensity the Viennese have even to serious 
 music, Haydn's Creation performed in the Im- 
 perial riding-school by 850 musicians, suffici- 
 ently proved. Though the grandest performance 
 I ever witnessed, yet it was but thinly attended. 
 Nothing, however, is more striking than the nume- 
 rical order and regularity visible even in the midst 
 of this chaos of sensuality. Hardly has the clock 
 sounded eleven, than city and suburbs, as with 
 a magic stroke, are hushed into deep silence. 
 Every body is, or should be, at home : and crying, 
 singing, or the least noise in the streets are things 
 unheard of. Every one must here keep good hours. 
 Vienna is, indeed, a city of contrasts ; here you 
 may find the most abject dissoluteness and un- 
 deviating steadiness, a high degree of learning 
 
204) INSTITUTIONS OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 and the grossest ignorance, the most contemptible 
 servihty and a noble independent spirit. 
 
 Austria, and in particular Vienna, possesses 
 some excellent institutions. Its Code of civil, cri- 
 minal, and ecclesiastical (the canon) laws, is the 
 best on the Continent, and superior by far to the 
 Code Napoleon. Austria is indebted for it to its 
 Joseph, who, after the manumission of the pea- 
 santry, and of his subjects from the shackles 
 of the Roman See, new-modelled the laws of 
 Maria Theresa, and of his ancestors. He insti- 
 tuted a commission for this purpose, selected from 
 the members of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, 
 Hofgesetzgebungs Comission, and the profes- 
 sors of the juridical faculty. This code is con- 
 tinued to the present time, and now bears the 
 name of the Codex of Francis I. The chief orna- 
 ment of this commission was the aulic counsellor. 
 Chevalier de Sonnenfels, a man whose juridical 
 works deserve to be known better than those of 
 any practical lawyer living. The faculty of law 
 is still respectable, though its members are said 
 to be inferior to those of Prague in learning. 
 But of course the recent system of oppression is 
 equally applied to it. 
 
THE MEDICAL SCHOOL AT VIENNA. 205 
 
 " You cannot conceive," said the doctor of 
 
 law and public professor of to me, " what 
 
 a sad thing it is to speak upon rights, where no 
 rights exist. But I have children, one of whom 
 is in the Imperial service. What is to be done V 
 
 The medical faculty owes its present distin- 
 guished standing to the same excellent, but so 
 often misunderstood monarch. This institution has 
 a foundation superior to those of Paris and Berlin. 
 Its medical members may, at least, be said to rival 
 those of the above-mentioned capitals. Its anato- 
 mical theatre and collection of preparations de- 
 serve admiration. It is frequently resorted to by 
 foreigners, who indeed can nowhere have a bet- 
 ter opportunity of proficiency than here. The 
 Chnical Institution is excellent. The botanical, 
 mineralogical and zoological treasures, deposited 
 in twenty-five saloons, are immense. They con- 
 tain nearly specimens of the whole earth. 
 
 The Oriental Academy, under the direction of 
 the aulic counsellor, Hammer, enjoys the particu- 
 lar attention of the Emperor : it has certainly 
 done wonders, and to it in part may be at- 
 tributed the intimacy of the Court of Austria with 
 
206 
 
 AUSTRIAN PROFESSORS. 
 
 the Ottoman Porte. There are, besides, a number 
 of other public and excellent institutions ; as the 
 Technological School, that of the Bomhadier Inge- 
 nieur and Artillery School, under the direction of 
 the well-known Colonel Angustinetz. But, though 
 there is no want of men of profound learning, 
 they are really separated, not only from the peo- 
 ple, but even from each other. An iugenieur in 
 Vienna is nothing else but an ingenieur ; as such 
 he knows perfectly well his science, but nothing 
 more. A professor of the civil law will have his 
 codex fully in his power, but to financial or po- 
 litical matters he is an utter stranger. Unless 
 you touch on his particular branch, you are in- 
 clined to think him an absolute ignoramus. They 
 are complete machines through which the Govern- 
 ment carries its measures into execution. (2^) 
 
 This would be impossible in any other country 
 besides Austria, where, notwithstanding the great 
 means of public information, public light is so con- 
 fined. The only public newspaper which deserves 
 this appellation is the Austrian Observer, whose 
 editor is Pelat, private secretary to Prince Met- 
 ternich. But though the rest of the pub- 
 lic newspapers for Vienna and the whole Em- 
 pire amount to no more than t wen t}' -five, and 
 
PUBLIC JOURNALS OF VIENNA. 207 
 
 never contain political or financial statements and 
 discussions, yet they are conducted throughout 
 by public officers, and are under the immediate 
 controul of no less personages than the Governors 
 or Vice-kings of the provinces and kingdoms. 
 The same is the case with literary journals. 
 Foreign journals are not entirely prohibited, yet 
 they, as well as their readers, are watched with 
 a prying vigilance. This and their high prices 
 may account for the political darkness in which 
 these poor savans are involved, and which some- 
 times produces strange mistakes in these deep 
 studied men. 
 
 It has been made a reproach, that this Em- 
 pire has produced so few men of literary talents. 
 Austria is an accumulation of kingdoms and pro- 
 vinces, with different languages, manners, and 
 customs. Bohemia had its writers when under its 
 own kings, but they are now literally chained down. 
 In Hungary, there are three languages spoken 
 and written: the Latin, as the language of the 
 Government, of the Diet, and of the tribunals of 
 justice; the Hungarian, the language of the 
 people; and the German. It would be difficult 
 to write in any of those tongues, and to find a 
 sufficient reading public. 
 
208 
 
 AUSTRIAN DRAMATIC POETS. 
 
 Austria itself, the smallest part of the empire, 
 was scarcely unfettered by Joseph II. when 
 a host of writers sprang up ; most of them 
 poor enough, but some of eminence. Alxinger, 
 Henry and Matthias Collin, rank high as poets. 
 Regulus and Bilboa are inferior to Schiller s and 
 Goethe's tragedies, but to none else. 
 
 Even at present, the Burg theatre possesses one 
 of the brightest new stars of Germany in its 
 poet, the Viennese Grillpatzer, an amiable young 
 man, who entered the list of dramatic authors with 
 a terrific and fatal piece, Schicksalssiiick, or as 
 it is called, an imitation of Mullner'^s Sehuld, 
 and Werner's Twenty-eighth February. He soon 
 after founded his reputation on one of the most 
 delicate tragedies which Germany possesses — the 
 Sappho. It ranks immediately after Goethe's 
 Iphigenia in Tauris. The author has, notwith- 
 standing his strict adherence to the unities of 
 Aristotle, succeeded in diffusing throughout his 
 piece, a glow, a melancholy softness, and a freshness, 
 which breathe of Grecian air ; certainly not an 
 easy matter with so hackneyed a topic as Sappho, 
 and with only three persons in the drama. Mrsv. 
 Schroeder, as Sappho, does ample justice to this 
 beautiful poem. 
 
GRTLLPATZER. 
 
 S09 
 
 Grillpatzer held, when he produced his " Sap- 
 pho," a petty court office in one of the aulic 
 tribunals, worth 50/. a year. The universal sensa- 
 tion which this chef-cCxuvre excited, induced his 
 friends to recommend him to^ his Majesty for 
 preferment to an office {Hof concipht)^ producing 
 120/. sterling. " Let me alone with your hot- 
 brained Grillpatzer,"' said the Emperor sullenly ; 
 " he would make verses instead of reports !" 
 
 Neglected and harassed, the poor fellow ac- 
 cepted, after his return from Italy, the appoint- 
 ment of poet of the Imperial Burgtheatre, with a 
 salary of J^OOO florins, (200/. sterling) ; a sum suffi- 
 cient in Vienna for a single gentleman to live upon 
 in a rather fashionable style. His subsequent 
 production did not answer the just expectations 
 entertained from his Muse. His " Medea" is a 
 long-winded tame heroine, \visibly influenced by 
 fear, and the trammels of the Austrian censor- 
 ship. 
 
 A more fettered being than an Austrian author 
 surely never existed. A writer in Austria must not 
 offend against any Government; nor against any 
 
 r 
 
210 
 
 STATE OF LITERATURE 
 
 minister ; nor against any hierarchy, if its mem- 
 bers be influential ; nor against the aristocracy. He 
 must not be hberal — nor philosophical— nor hu- 
 morous—in short, he must be nothing at all. Un- 
 der the catalogue of offences, are comprehended 
 not only satires, and witticisms ; — nay, he must 
 not explain things at all^ because they might lead 
 to serious thoughts. If he venture to say any 
 thing upon these subjects, it must be done in that 
 devout and reverential tone which befits an Aus- 
 trian subject, who presumes to lift the veil from 
 these ticklish secrets ! What would have become 
 of Shakspeare had he been doomed to live or to 
 write in Austria ? 
 
 Should an Austrian author dare to write con- 
 trary to the views of the Government, his writings 
 would be not only mutilated, but he himself 
 regarded as a contagious person, with whom no 
 faithful subject should have any intercourse* 
 Should he, however, go so far as to publish his 
 work out of the empire — in Germany; a thing 
 almost impossible, owing to the omnipotence of 
 Austria there ; this attempt would- be considered 
 and punished as little short of high treason. 
 Compared to the fetters under which the Austrian 
 
IN AUSTRIA. 
 
 211 
 
 literati groan, their brethren of the quill in Ger- 
 many are absolute autocrats. 
 
 There is in Vienna a nobleman of considerable 
 talent, who, with a zeal seldom to be met with, 
 rummaged all the old castles and dusty parch- 
 ments of the Austriaa nobility. He fell into 
 disgrace for writing one of the most harmless pro- 
 ductions, which, however, did not coincide exactly 
 with the views of the Government. All his own 
 and his uncle's endeavours in the Tyrol, could 
 not appease Imperial suspicions; and he remains 
 stained with the greatest crime in Austria — libe- 
 ralism ! — though he has since produced a number 
 of historical essays and a Plutarch, in which 
 he proves that all the Austrian monarchs were 
 models of heroism and virtue, even Albert I. and 
 Ferdinand II. not excepted ! ! 
 
 Who would, under these and similar circum- 
 stances, dare to draw upon himself the animad- 
 version of a monarch who thinks and asserts that 
 philosophy, poetr}^, and history, are dangerous 
 things, only fit to turn the heads of the youths, 
 and to fill them with good-for-nothing nonsense ? 
 p 2 
 
212 
 
 DRAMA IN VIENNA. 
 
 When his Majesty visited Bohemia and Prague, 
 the last time, "Hanns Klachel of Prelautsch" (the 
 Abdera of Bohemia) was performed ; when he 
 attended the sittings of the Diet in Buda, " The 
 Burghers of Vienna."" According to these broad 
 hints, and the still broader expressions, these 
 things, as he calls them, are treated. The Burg 
 theatre is literally a thorn in his eyes ; it is fet- 
 tered in every way. Goethe, Schiller, Miillner, 
 and Houwald, are not only wofully mangled, 
 but the person is even carefully watched who 
 shows a predilection for Wallenstein or William 
 Tell. The ballets and operas of the Karnthner- 
 thors theatre are, on the contrary, highly patro- 
 nized, but, above all, the Leopold stadt or Casper t 
 theatre, as the Viennese call it. Its hero is a Mr. 
 Schuster, whose exterior — he is an ugly hunch- 
 back — raises shouts of laughter before he even 
 opens his mouth. Its poet is a Mr. Bauerl, who 
 furnishes regularly every month a new piece. As 
 these farces are innocent in the Austrian sense of 
 the word, — -viz. contain only obscenities, — they 
 pass the censor unmolested. 
 
 I saw Schuster in the above-mentioned ''Burgh- 
 ers of Vienna," a farce from the period of the 
 
DRAMA IN VIENNA. 
 
 213 
 
 French wars, when the citizens had to mount 
 the guard. Honest Schuster is on duty, pacing 
 impatiently up and down, laying his gun now 
 on his right, again on his left shoulder, looking 
 at his watch, when several of his fellow-burghers 
 drop in. Of course it is impossible for him to 
 resist the temptation. To complete his comfort, 
 his paramour arrives loaded with every species of 
 provision. While he enjoys his bottle of Bisam- 
 berg in the next tavern, his officer, unexpectedly, 
 visits the guard. The search after the deserter, 
 the intercession of the damsel, who takes the 
 officer aside, and offers him several things, of 
 whose import she gives an idea by kissing him, 
 form the plot and incidents of this and similar 
 pieces. While the income of all the other 
 theatres is deficient, through the crippling hand 
 of the censor, that of the Leopoldstadt yields a 
 yearly surplus of more than 5000/., a great sum 
 in Austria. The manner in which every channel 
 and medium of public information is either 
 stopped, or diverted according to the views of the 
 Government, baffles every description. There is 
 not a city in the world with more museums, gal- 
 leries, collections, or libraries, — but they are dead 
 treasures. A tour through the saloons of the Uni- 
 
214 
 
 MUSEUMS, &C. OF VIENNA, 
 
 versity and its library is painful to one's ears and 
 eyes. The library is one of the richest in Europe, 
 in medical, juridical, historical, and philosophical 
 works, but chains are bound round its best con- 
 tents. The same is the case with the Imperial 
 library, containing an immense saloon of 240 by 
 546 feet. 
 
 It is true, that to all these scientific institutions 
 and collections, both public and private, a fo- 
 reigner has not only free access (except to the 
 prohibited books), but these good people are de- 
 lighted if they have an opportunity of showing 
 what they possess. When we visited the palace 
 of the Archduke Charles (formerly the Prince of 
 Saxe Teschen's,) our progress through the splendid 
 but somewhat whimsically furnished apartments, 
 was arrested by his Imperial Highness, who was 
 in the next room. As soon as the Archduke un- 
 derstood that foreigners were there, he retired into 
 another room, and we had ample leisure to ex- 
 amine the Ivory and Ebony Rooms, as they are 
 called, with the rest of the gorgeous apartments. 
 
 But a proper sense and use of these valuable 
 treasures, a love of arts and sciences, a respect 
 
CHARACTER OF THE VIENNESE. 215 
 
 for distinguished talents, you would in vain seek 
 for in Vienna. The former are kept as a sort 
 of furniture, as a show to look upon, and little 
 
 else. Even distinguished writers, as G tz or 
 
 S 1 are here paid, not so much to write as not 
 
 to write ; and they are considered as intellectual, or 
 literary tradesmen. In the Belvedere, the palace 
 of Prince Lichtenstein, or the gallery of Count 
 Lambert, you will, perhaps, meet a straggling gen- 
 tleman occasionally sitting down in a corner, and 
 taking a copy of a Christ, or a Madonna, but that 
 is all. 
 
 The tide runs in Vienna towards gross sen- 
 suality in the people ;^ — mute obedience in the 
 public officers; — ^gloom or dissoluteness among the 
 high nobility, and towards the most complete des- 
 potism in the Government, which grasps with the 
 iron claws of its emblem — the double ea^le — the 
 whole empire, and keeps it in its baneful embraces. 
 
1 
 
NOTES. 
 
 Note 1. p. 14. 
 
 Among the literary curiosities, there is a recently pub- 
 lished work, proposing^ as a deserving monument for the 
 commemoration of the regained liberty of Europe from 
 -Napoleon's despotism, the excavation of our globe as far 
 as to the Antipodes. 
 
 The treasures which the Author is sure would be found 
 in the interior of the earth, about 1000 miles from the sur- 
 face, would, in his opinion, amply repay the first expenses. 
 With the earth, rocks, the treasures of gold and silver, he 
 desires the sovereigns of Europe, whom he invites to the 
 execution of his great scheme, to build cities, erect moun- 
 tains, &c. 
 
 Note 2. p. 14. 
 
 It is almost superfluous to observe, that the Ambassa- 
 dors of this German Diet are mere censors watching the 
 German literature, and that they have not the least legis- 
 lative, judicial, or executive power. 
 
218 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 Note 3. p. 1.5. 
 
 When I passed through Heidelberg, the unfortunate 
 Ex-king of Sweden (Count Gustavson) alighted in the 
 same hotel where I stopped. He had just left the stage- 
 coach, and entered the dining-room of the Posthof, his 
 portmanteau under his arm, dressed plain, and rather 
 poorly, and without a servant. The room was crowded 
 with passengers and students; the conversation, though not 
 noisy, yet lively. As soon as the Ex-monarch entered, a 
 deep respectful silence ensued, the students left off smok- 
 ing, and the gentleman who occupied the head of the 
 table rose to make place for the distinguished guest. The 
 landlord approached him and asked whether he would 
 not be pleased to hear the band of musicians, which just 
 entered. He consented, but they w^ere not permitted to 
 address him for the petty customary compliment, as it 
 was generally known that he was very poor, and reduced 
 to the necessity of pawning, at Basle, his portmanteau. 
 There was not a sneer, not the least contempt shown 
 towards the dethroned monarch, so reduced in his pecu- 
 niary means, A deep respect was legible on the counte- 
 nances of the whole company, as far from servile cringing to 
 high-life, as low contempt of fallen greatness. I could not 
 help expressing my satisfaction to one of the students, a 
 beautiful, noble, and proud-looking young fellow, dressed 
 in the Teutonic costume. " Sir,'' said he, seriously, we 
 would not show so much respect towards the Emperor of 
 Austria, but Count Gustavson is unfortunate," and raising 
 his voice emphatically, " woe to the wretch who adds to 
 the load of the oppressed !" 
 
NOTES, 
 
 219 
 
 Note 4. p. 17. 
 
 Wlien in Toplitz, I took an excursion witli some Po- 
 lisli ladies and gentlemen. Our conversation turned on 
 
 Poniatowsky ; " Oh/' said the beautiful S " you should 
 
 indeed have seen him^ when he drove his phaeton and eight 
 wild steeds^ standings and alone, through Warsaw's royal 
 streets." All the ladies were in tears^ and the gentlemen 
 pretty near to it. 
 
 Note 5. p. .52. 
 
 The Russians, Polanders, Bohemians, and Winden, are 
 tribes of the extensive nation of the Slaven, or Slavonians, 
 as they call themselves. 
 
 Note 6. p. 53. 
 
 During the reign of Ferdinand II. of infatuated me- 
 mory, there were in the kingdom of Bohemia not less 
 than 50,000 printed books and manuscripts in the Bohemian 
 tongue burnt by the Jesuits. 
 
 Note 7. p. 72. 
 
 This kind-hearted soul received soon after an invita- 
 tion from Frederick the Great, with an offer of 5000 
 florins salary; his own was but 800 florins, 80/. While 
 hesitating, he was called before his Sovereign, Joseph II. 
 who addressed him ; " Mozart, you are going to leave me." 
 Overpowered by the kind tone in which these words were 
 pronounced, he, sobbing, and tears gushing from his eyes^ 
 could only reply, No, never will I leave your Majesty !" 
 
 Note 8. p. 73. 
 
 The furnaces of Genitz, Horshowitz, and Purglitz, con- 
 structed of freestone, with iron roofs, are said to be supe- 
 rior to every thing of their kind on the Continent, I have 
 not seen them. 
 
NOTES. 
 
 Note 9. p. 75. , 
 
 In the reign of Ferdinand II. there were in Prague 
 two Universities, the one founded by Charles IV. the other 
 by the Calitines (Hussites). The latter was abolished by 
 Ferdinand. Though the ancient Bohemian writers concur 
 in the statement, that in the time of Kass^ 30,000 students 
 were in Prague, yet this is surely a mistake. Even in the 
 •present times the whole body of students at all the Eu- 
 ropean Universities scarcely amounts to tliis number. 
 
 JVote 10. 2^. 77. 
 
 The elementary schools in the Austrian Empire are 
 equally regulated by the government, and in each province 
 superintended by a Scholasticus, a Canon of the Chapter, 
 who receives the reports of his inferior officer, and is 
 under the controul of the government. Private schools are 
 prohibited. It must be allowed, that the system of educa- 
 tion, though not on a liberal, is certainly established on an 
 extensive plan. There is not a village without its elemen- 
 tary school ; the teachers are either paid by the govern- 
 ment or by the proprietor of the domain. The children 
 of the poor are educated gratis. The professors of Latin 
 schools, Lycseums, (Colleges) and Universities are entirely 
 independent of the students, and receive their salary 
 from the crown, from 80 to 200/. a-year. Extraordinary 
 lectures are seldom permitted, and if held, the stipends 
 (45. for half a-year) are so trifling, that most of the pro- 
 fessors seldom resort to this means of bettering their cir- 
 cumstances. The stipend which students have to pay to 
 the government for their instruction, is in Univjersities 
 2s. a month; but almost all of them are exempt from paying 
 even this trifle, and it requires only a petition to the go- 
 vernment to make them exempt. 
 
NOTES. 
 
 221 
 
 Note 11. p. 140, 
 
 Tokay wine is^ without doubt;, the best wine in the 
 world. With its taste, spirit, and fire, nothing can be 
 compared : it is among the wines, what the pine-dapple 
 is among the fruits. The reason why this wine is less 
 properly valued in foreign countries, Russia and Poland 
 excepted, is that there are four sorts of it. The first, 
 called Essence, is even in Tokay or Vienna sold at not 
 less than 21. sterling a bottle ; so in proportion, the lesser 
 sorts. What is drunk in London and Paris as Tokay, is 
 genuine English or French produce. 
 
 Note 12. p. 150. 
 It is universally asserted, in well-informed circles, that 
 
 Metternich received from the R n C 1 a salary 
 
 superior to that which he enjoyed from the Austrian 
 Emperor ; and that the latter knew of this circumstance. 
 Whether this be true or not we do not know, and never 
 took the pains of ascertaining it. The following authenti- 
 cated circumstance is, however, very singular. A person 
 who had demands to a large amount on the Austrian trea- 
 sury for provisions delivered to the army, and was unable to 
 obtain payment, applied to the Emperor. Have you been 
 
 to Counsellor N ?" demanded the Emperor; Yes, 
 
 your Majesty.'' What does he say ?" "^1 must wait." 
 " Well, go again ; but if you will drive your coach," rub- 
 bing at the same time his thumb and forefinger, " you 
 must smear the wheels !" 
 
 ATote 13. p. 151. 
 
 Abhorring, as we do, the Austrian despotism, yet from 
 these very probable results, along with the natural power 
 and influence of its Aristocracy — this monarchy cannot con- 
 
NOTES. 
 
 tinue a despotic one ; and if it does, the links of the empire 
 will give way. 
 
 Note 14. 2). 163. 
 
 While he sends the apparently liberal, but wily E y 
 
 to L n, the Apostolic A y directs the councils of the 
 
 French aristocracy and clergy in P s. In F 1, 
 
 where the censorship of Germany is established, the hel~ 
 
 esprit M. de B n must do with no other business 
 
 and knowledge than that of reading and watching German 
 novels and pamphlets. The lofty and high spirited A — — t 
 
 of R a is entrusted to the scarcely less lofty, but plia- 
 
 ble P e H a 
 
 You would be astonished," said H. at the noblemen 
 of high character among the different Aristocracies, w'ho 
 are in the interest of this man, in every country, and in 
 every town." 
 
 Note 15. p. l64. 
 
 The Hapsburg family is, for the acquisition and 
 present quiet possession of Hungary, principally indebted 
 to the family of Esterhazy. In the year 1805, after the 
 fatal capture of the Austrian army at Ulm, the Austrian 
 forces on the Danube were under the command of Prince 
 
 A -y, who was intrusted with the breaking of the 
 
 wooden bridge leading across the Danube at Vienna. He 
 disobeyed his instructions, and Napoleon marched, without 
 obstacle, in pursuit of the Austrian and Russian armies 
 in Moravia. The loss of the battle at Austerlitz was 
 the consequence. Archduke Charles, with the Austrian 
 army, was scarcely two days' march from the field of 
 battle — but he came too late. The outcry of treachery 
 
XOTES. 
 
 223 
 
 against A y was universal ; in Great Britain^ France^ 
 
 Prussia^ or Russia, he would undoubtedly have been shot. 
 In Austria he came off with a few years' banishment from 
 the Imperial head-quarters, ^'ienna. 
 
 JVofe 16. p. lOo. ^'^H " 
 
 Among- other curiosities, there is in the jNIilan li- 
 brary, the diploma of nobility conferred by the Duke Ga- 
 leazzo on the family of his mistress. The reason of this 
 elevation is candidly enough expressed in the diploma : 
 
 Ob delecfafionem prcec'ipuam corpori nostro ah Ula prcEs- 
 titam, cVf." 
 
 Pope Sixtus V. raised his sister, a washerwoman, to 
 the rank of a Princess. The next day Pasquino ap- 
 peared in a dirty shirt. '^'AVhy this?" he is asked. 
 ^' Don't you know my washerwoman has become a Prin- 
 cess ?" was the cutting answer. The Pope was so in- 
 censed that he promised one thousand crowns to the person 
 who would detect the author : none appeared. He re- 
 peated his offer, with the promise that no bodily hann 
 should be done if the author offered himself. This strata- 
 gem succeeded. The author claimed the thousand crowns ; 
 they were given to him — his life spared, but his tongue 
 cut out. 
 
 How a number of the fii'st French families descend 
 from the ^'alieres, Gabrielles, &c. is known : we think it 
 however necessary to observe, that in speaking of the 
 respectability of the Austrian aristocrac)^ we limit this 
 term strictly to the national Hungarian, Bohemian, and 
 even Austrian noblemen : not^ however, those who made 
 
NOTES. 
 
 their fortune in Austria, and came from Italy, Germany, 
 or France. There are a great number of such families ; 
 though many of them are respectable, they are the chief 
 cause of the outcry which is so unjustly raised against the 
 dissoluteness of the Austrian nobility by less discerning 
 people. A national nobility is every where respectable ; 
 and it requires certainly a high degree of evil propensity 
 to deviate entirely from noble ancestors, and to fix the 
 stigma of infamy before the eyes of a native country on 
 one's self : a transplanted nobleman, however, is scarcely 
 good for any thing. 
 
 JVote 17 p. 169. 
 
 The Austrian Infantry consists of thirty battalions of 
 grenadiers, each 800 men strong ; of sixty-four regiments 
 of Infantry, and seventeen regiments of Bannat-infantry, 
 each regiment of three battalions, in time of peace 800 
 men strong, in time of war six battalions, each 1000 men. 
 To this body is added, in time of war, the Landwehr 
 militia, which serve as regular soldier)^, 120,000 men 
 strong, and the Hungarian Insurrections army, 50,000 
 men. To these come eight battalions of riflemen (Jager), 
 five regiments of Artillery, 20,000 men with a corre- 
 sponding train of Bombardiers. The Cavalry consists 
 of twelve regiments of Hussars, 800 men strong ; eight 
 regiments of Cuirassiers, eight of Dragoons, four regi- 
 ments of Lancers, each 800 men strong. The whole 
 army amounts, in time of peace, to 270,000 men, in time 
 of war to 650,000. These troops are recruited from the 
 German, Polish, and Italian dominions, according to the 
 law of conscription ; from which, however, Hungary is ex- 
 empt, in conformity to its constitution. Private soldiers 
 are still subject to flogging and to the guntlope. The pay 
 
NOTES. 
 
 of a common soldier of the Infantry is six kreutzer, 2c?. from 
 which he has to pay for his half pound of meat ; with the rest 
 he is provided. The Grenadiers, Artillerists, and Cavalle- 
 rists have eight and ten kreutzers, from 2§c?, to ^d. The 
 monthly pay of the officers is, for an ensign, 9,1. 9s. ; for a 
 lieutenant, 2/. 8^ ; for a premier-lieutenant, 2/. \%s. ; for a 
 second-captain, Si. \9s.', for a captain Hauptmann, 11. 85. ; 
 a major has 120/. a-year; a colonel-lieutenant 180/.; a 
 colonel 350/. ; a field-marshal 1 600/. The officers of the 
 staff, from the major upwards, have horse rations : the 
 major 3, colonel-lieutenants 4, colonels 6 , major-generals, 
 8 — field marshals 16. 
 
 The colonels have the jus gladii. — The regiments are 
 in each province under the command of a general com- 
 mandant, who make their reports to the Council of War, 
 Hhof kriegrath, the supreme and central Tribunal of the 
 whole army. 
 
 Note 18. p. 171. 
 
 There will scarcely be an Austrian nobleman who does . 
 not read and write the English^ French, and Italian Ian- j f /'f / 
 
 guages perfectly well. Most of them keep the newspapers 
 of these countries : in this point, they are of course ex- 
 empt from the general prohibition with respect to gazettes. 
 
 Note 19. p. 173. 
 
 There are chief journals : the Sammeler, the Annals of 
 the Austrian Empire ; the Annals of Literature, and one 
 or two journals of inferior note. 
 
226 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 Each province, which has a government of its own, 
 io allowed one newspaper. 
 
 Note 20. p 181. 
 
 The Germans distinguish in their waltzes : — the first;, 
 the Landpr country-dance, is a slow waltz; the second, 
 the waltz' keeps the middle between the Land^er and ]^u./ 
 Deutschen : which latter they dance very quick. 
 
 Note 21. p. ISg. 
 
 There are in Vienna the following tribunals : — The 
 Council of the State, headed by the Emperor as pre- 
 sident, and Prince Metternich as vice-president. The 
 Ministry of the Interior^ or Chancelleries for Bohemia, 
 Austria, Italy, Poland, with two Counsellors of the State, 
 and fifty Aulic counsellors, each of whom has his own 
 department of business. 
 
 The Chancelleries for Hungary and Transylvania, with 
 two Counsellors of the State, and thirty-five Aulic coun- 
 sellors. 
 
 The Ministry of Justice, with two Counsellors, and six- 
 teen Counsellors of the Court. 
 
 Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with two Counsellors of 
 State, and ten Aulic counsellors. 
 
 Ministry of Treasury (HofkaumSjer), with two State 
 Counsellors, and seventy-five Aulic counsellors. 
 
 Ministry of War, with twenty-five Aulic counsellors, 
 (Hofkriegsrath.) 
 
NOTES. 
 
 227 
 
 President of the Police, with three Aulic counsellors. 
 According to the old city regulations, the second and third 
 floors of the houses of citizens, in the city proper, are ex- 
 clusively to be let to officers. There is in the Austrian 
 cities and towns a distinction made between the houses of 
 citizens and those of the nobility, when registered in the 
 Landtafel (the Record-office of the nobility). The latter 
 pay less taxes, are exempt from the quartering of the sol- 
 diers, but cannot carry on trade. The former are regis- 
 tered in the records of the city. 
 
 Note 22. p. 197. 
 
 Vienna, with its suburbs, is 15 miles in circumfe- 
 rence- In Vienna there are one Servian ; one Latin, (for 
 Hungary) ; and one Hungarian newspaper ; besides the 
 Court Gazette and the Austrian Observer. 
 
 Note 23. p. 206. 
 
 By an Imperial decree, dated 1808, the chair of the 
 Religious Philosophy was erected, and attached to the 
 philosophical studies. The most erudite men were selected 
 to fill this chair ; its effects were astonishing. An intellec- 
 tual progress was felt throughout, far above what can 
 be imagined. The Austrian academical youth became, 
 through these lectures, in fact, Protestants in mind, though 
 professors of Catholicism. '^I will," said his Majesty, in 
 a cabinet, writing to his Minister of the Interior, Count 
 Saurau, that m.y youth shall believe, and not dispute the 
 Articles of Faith." Accordingly, every one had to regulate 
 himself. Those who did not comply immediately with the 
 new command, were dismissed from their chairs or im- 
 prisoned. The students who revolted were sent to the 
 Turkish frontiers as private soldiers. Among the former 
 
228 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 was the Doctor and Professor of this Philosophical chair 
 in Vienna. His place was filled by a monk of the new 
 instituted Order of the Licorians, a Mr. Madelener. The 
 outcry against these and similar journeymen of the Ro- 
 man See was universal. Lampoons, every thing was tried ; 
 even the Emperor's own brother, the Archduke Rudolph, 
 Cardinal Archbishop of Olmutz, begged to be excused 
 from receiving them into his see ; but the Emperor 
 wanted pious men, and accordingly they obtained the 
 Church of Maria, with a capital of 20,000^. sterling, for 
 their support. 
 
 Nearly from the same motives and views, there has been 
 (1821) a Protestant Theological Institution established; 
 to prevent Austrian Protestant subjects from visiting Ger- 
 man Universities. Its director, a Mr. Glatz, is an excel- 
 lent preacher and scholar ; the institution, however, is 
 a very meagre substitute for a Protestant theological 
 faculty. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 PRINTED BY S. AND R. BENTLEY, DORSET-STREET, 
 
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