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    ORIGINAL COllRESPOXDENCE.

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    Untitled Article

    did not confine himself to the pale of instruction assigned him . He worked to increase his store ot knowledge in . matters of history , language , and literature , cultivating at the same time with great zeal the gentle art of music . A journey to Italy , made in 1821 , in company with his brother Clemens , had for its result a marked predilection for . the Italian tongue ; but also served to confirm him even more in his Romanist principles . One of the fruits of his dilettantism at this time was the translation into German , under the pseudonym of " PJiilalethes , " of a portion of Dante ' s Inferno , which , of course , was rapturously received by his admiring courtiers . Those more independent critics ,

    however , who , have seen a copy of this princely labour , are not at all ecstatic in their admiration thereof . Still , emanating as it did from those exalted quarters which are not generally noted for originality of intellect or profundity of knowledge , it may pass as a tolerable performance . In later years , the Prince also published a " translation of the Divina Commedia , which is considered , by some , an acceptable rendering of the text . Besides these Italian studies , John-Nepornuk indulged a taste for Hellenic literature . The events in Greece , which he regarded with a double interest in his capacitv of plnl-Hellene and of philo-Russian , formed ! the iirst inducement for him to devote attention to that

    tongue . Altogether , he made himself remarkable for years by his attachment to literary pursuits , showing himself in this , not a coarse Capuchin , but an elegant , smooth , artistic Jesuit of the rare old school , which is gradually dying put . ¦ ¦ - ' This occupation with classic attainments by no means , however , prevented the disciple of the Abbe de Sylvestre t aud of Father Loftier from pursuing in politics a very decided Conservative course . In political matterSi Prince John-Nepomuk , from early manhood , followed the usual .. royalist track , scarcely even taking the trouble to give his conduct that peculiar hue of sham-liberalism generally observable in heirs-presumptive . After having taken his

    sent in the Ppper Chamber of Saxony , he forthwith came out as the uncompromising champion of the interests of Rome . More than once , in the debates of the Legislature , he opposed himself with strenuous energy to the cause of religious liberty . More than once he strove to force laws upon the country which would have given immense advantages to the Catholic Church over the Protestant communities , though it is well known that the vast majority of the population belong to the latter . There were few topics referring to priestly hierarchy , or monarchic bon plaisir , on which the Prince

    was not found on the reactionary sid , e . In matters of the administration of justice , too —which at one time ho had studied with greater earnestness than is generally the case with princes—he resolutely set himself against the abolition of the most crying abuses . He fought desperately in the Upper Chamber against the introduction of a more equitable system of judicial procedures . Thus , whilst apparently abating , by an easy intercourse With literary men , the divisions hitherto existing between the Court and all those outside that " charmed circle , " he . on the other

    hand , did his worst to . prolong the hie of those institutions which form the surest impediment to the progress of a nation , If we add that already in 1830 he had figured conspicuously at the head of the military force called the " Communal Guard , ' ' in repressing the dissatisfaction of the pcoplo , it may easily bo imagined what he proved to bo when an epoch of greater agitation tirrivod . The truo Jesuit character oamo out for the first time in all its hideousness in August , 1 S-15 , on the occasion of tho Leipzig massacre . About that year a lively moveniont had sprung up in Saxony , not . only amonff Catholics , who desired to

    establish a National Gorman Church , independent of , and in opposition to , tho Popo . but also among tho Protoatants of tho country , who desirod to reform their ooolosiastioal organisation by moans of the popular principle- of election , iu liou of tho dospotio procedures of governmental iippointmont hitherto prevailing . The Court , chiefly urged on by Princo John , dcolarod against this movement in a violent manifesto . The Ministers issued an ordinance in whi ph , most unconstitutionally , all mooting ^ , associations , and combinations undertaken lor tho purpose of plaoing ccolesiuationl ail ' aira on a freer oasis , wore doolju'od illogal , and punishable with heavy penalties . The people wore naturally deeply oxaaporatcd at this attaok upon thoir " Protestant freedom . " Thoy refused to acknowledge tho right of the Court to issue such mufti

    ordinances without the sanction of the Legislature . Upon this , Prince John hastened to Leipzig , the centre of the movement , in order to overawe the population by a display of military , force . Undaunted , however , by the threatening demonstration , the citizens of Leipzig continued in their protestations , . and . a number . of the people even gave unmistakable signs of their dissatisfaction by interrupting the military review , and otherwise displaying their liberal sympathies . The

    tumult increased , and , in the midst of it , a stray stone chanced to break the glass in the window of the hotel whither the Prince had repaired with his staff . Scarcely had the shattered pane fallen , when the infuriated champion of Romanism , without deigning to summon the crowd to disperse , ordered the military to pour a volley into the dense mass before them—an order that was carried out with a savage alacrity only to be found in the faithful followers of the doctrine illustrated on the eve of

    St . Bartholomew . An appalling spectacle ensued . The ground before the hotel was , in an instant , covered with the dead and dying . Men , women , and children lay motionless or writhing in their gore . Shrieks of fear and agony , cries of malediction against the sanguinar } ' Prince , rent the air . The town of Leipzig was frantic with horror and indignation . Frciligrath has sung of this ghastly night in heartstirring accents : — ¦ ' .. ¦ ' . Ich bin die Nacht ,-die Bartholomuus-Nachtmein Fuss 1 st blutig , und mein Haupt verschleiert ; gs hat in Deutschland eine Fiirstenrriacht

    zwolf Tage heuer mich zu frtth gefei ' ert . . Prince John , the author of the crime , fled that very night from Leipzig . The military , in expectation of an insurrection , retired into the Pleisscnbunr . The murdered victims of tyranny were followed to the grave on the ensuing day by an immense multitude of sympathising mourners . Subsequently , a deputation of the people waited upon the King at Dresden , demanding redress , and guarantees for the future . But , instead of givingthese , the King and Prince ¦ ¦ haughtily dismissed the deputation , and immediately garrisoned Leipzig , with . ' a strong , force of foot , horse , and artillery , to keep down any attempt . At the same rime , a Committee . of Inquisition was despatched there ,

    which gave the finishing ^ touch to the horrors that had been perpetrated , Tby delivering many citizens to the sufferings of protracted imprisonment . In this way , Prince John tried his hand against the aspirations for religious liberty in 1 S 45 . We need not say what were his sympathies and doings in 1 S 4 S and 1 SA 9 , when Dres ' den , which had risen in democratic insurrection against the King , was re-subjected by the intervention of a Prussian army . We pass over the sanguinary horrors enacted at that time in the Saxon capital , and hasten to come to the year 1854 , when Prince John assumed sovereign power in consequence of the sudden death of his brother , which had been brought about by the accident in Tvrol .

    It had been fondly believed that King John , on ascending the throne , would issue , as had fonnerly bcen the custom in Germany , an amnesty for the numerous political prisoners . Nothing , liowcvcr , of the kind happened ; he continued keeping them in the dungeon of Walclheiin , where they have remained since 1 S-19 , tho majority of them condemned for life . One of tho most distinguished pf these captives , a former member of the Provisional Government of Dresden , died iu consequence of his sufferings . Another , Houbncr , a man of groat learning , 1 ms his hoalth shattered , and is in danger of succumbing to tho effect of his punishment . In vain havo been tho supplications of the aged mothor and of tho wifo and childron of llcubner . Tho

    King remains inexorable . Nay , he has even had a law enacted stipulating that no man condemned for lifo should be allowed to beg for pardon ! Fortunately , wo may say that , even were there no such law , tho oxaltcd feeling of dignity prevailing among tho prisoners would not permit them to descend to sue for mercy . A characteristic oocurronco took place not long ago , which shows the tyranny of King John towards thoso oaptivea in all its unworthy pettiness . A German translation of some English poets having boon published from the pen of oue of tho accomplished mon incarcerated at Wftldhoim , it was remarked by tho authorities of King John that one of tho poems so translated contained some allusions to Liberty . Immediately thoroupon tho King—who , bo it romomborod , pridos himself oil boing a niombor of tho " Ropublio of Letters "—gnvo orders for the suppression of tho

    book , as it " was not becoming that freedom should be alluded to in the work of one condemned for high treason . " in matters of foreign policy , the name of Kiug John has obtained an unenviable notoriety both during and after the Russian war . It was his envoy , Baron von Seebach , who exerted himself in Paris in favour of the Czar , and at last succeeded in drawing over Louis Bonaparte to the Muscovite cause . Some censorious observers will have it that

    the fair Baronesse . von Seebach was not altogether unconnected with these . underhand manoeuvres . The interview between the French ruler and Alexander II ., at Stuttgart—an interview pregnant with future European complications—is attributed also to the agency of the Dresden Court . In internal affairs , moreover , the rule of the King of Saxony has turned out one of the most reactionary in Germany . ' . Saxony is the country where torture , ' in . opitma forma , is re-established ; it being provided that " accused persons who persist in denying "

    the crimes they may be charged with , are to be flogged at the discretion of the authorities , until by such means the " truth" is elicited from them . So far for politics and justice . As to religious matters , the Romanist tendencies of the Kingkept in unflagging zeal by his wife Amelia , a Bavarian princess—have of late found their expression in despicable concessions to Rome , and threaten to invade even further the policy of the Courh Thus the Government of King John—of that " aimable litterateur "— -. has proved , under every respect , to the full as great a plague in Saxony as could have been the rule of the most crass and unlearned despot .

    Untitled Article

    FKAXCE . { From our oxen Correspondent . ) Paris , Thursday , 6 £ p . m . THE EJIPEKOR ASD M . Hl'BSER . The year opens gloomily with rumours of war , which every day acquire greater consistency . The extraordinary observation addressed by the Emperor to the . Austrian Ambassador upon New Year ' s-day— -a festive occasion , when the corroding cares of politics might well be for the nonce forgotten—have filled the commercial classes with consternation , routed the condottieri of speculation , and disturbed the even tenor of all men's ways . Xast year was not entitled to a red letter in the imperial calendar , for it was filled with a long succession of blunders , beginning with the terrorist panic whicfc followed the aitentat of Orsini . The hectoring

    of gentlemen who believed their mission was to go put coloneling on English soil insulted the national dignity of Englishmen , and showed how one-sided people here wished the alliance to be . The coercion inflicted on Belgium , Switzerland , and Piedmont offended all Europe ; and the proceedings taken against M . de Blontalembert closed the melancholy category of errors . To some men experience teaches nothing ; and I doubt if a greater mistake could have been committed than to outrage the common forms of decency and good breeding by publicly insulting the representative of an allied power on tho greatest festival of the year—upon the day when even the commonest in the land wishes happiness and prosperity to all he meets with . The commentary which

    was made this morning by a high functionary of the Government , was that the conduct of tho Emperor was incomprehensible , and would give substance to the rumour that it was a preconcerted thing to " Bear" the market and facilitate the Stock Exchange transactions of certain woll-known individuals . The proceeding was so unusuni and so uncalled for , that people seek for its causa in regions rpnjoto from politics . Thoy cannot conceive that mere diplomatic disagreements would induce such an outburst of ill-tompor and so complete an absence of bicnstjancen . There must bo some other reason , they affirm , and with the profound conviction that there is , deeply rooted in society generally , you can readily understand how great hiis boon tho blunder to enoourago tho belief that the foreign policy of France

    is shaped to serve tho views of speculators on 'Change—that tho language of tho Empire is to day obsequious to Russia to sustain tho Bulls , and almost brutal to Austria to-morrow to make the path easy for tho " Boars . " " Of course I do not for ono moment suppose that the Emperor had any such intention . Ha is sqrroundod with men—Ministers and adhoronts- ~ who , if they are plastic in thoir natures and pliftblo to his will , for that very reason know how to servo thoir ends , which « 1 I have a marvellous resemblance—tp feather tUoir own nosts , in vulgar parlance . It ia a groat mis-, taUe to represent tho Emperor as a dark , unfathomablo nature , always full of plots nnd schemes . lie may havo boon , so wl » on ho wao a pretender , but now ouocoss has wonderful ) v softonod and expanded his oharnetor . It Is onlv hv hta ami starts that he io enorgodc niui active .

    Original Collrespoxdence.

    ORIGINAL COllRESPOXDENCE .

    Untitled Article

    No . 459 , January 8 , 1859 . j T H E T , E A B E B . 53

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Jan. 8, 1859, page 53, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2276/page/21/