England without the aid and protection in the
West, however ill given, of Ireland; and, calling to mind the words of
myself, an old Holstein noble, be assured, that the apathetic
indifference of England to the dismemberment of this kingdom, her old
ally, will destroy, only for a time, the balance of power in Northern
Europe, but will entail on future generations the misery of restoring by
the sword, what can now be done with the pen, the independence of the
Danish Crown."

"I do not wish, Baron," I said, "to interfere with the opinion you
entertain of the intellectual refinement of men, and their inclination
to have their quarrels arranged rather by the silent aid of the pen,
than the roar of cannon; but of this I am convinced, that, the more
enlightened the human race appear to become, the more frequently
submission and order seem to be appalled by a total disregard of many
social institutions. That day is distant indeed, when the legislators of
two disaffected countries will sit down and calm their differences by
philosophic deliberation."

"I do not quite agree with you," answered the American Minister; "but, I
still think, that the irritability of human nature will overcome reason,
and so, in anger, men seize the sabre while they throw down the pen; but
that is only temporary. 'Ira furor brevis est.'"

"A great deal of mischief may be done in a short time," I replied. "I do
not, however, wish your Excellency to take all hope from the Baron de
B----, but the separation of Holstein and Schleswig from this country
will scarcely be opposed by England, and, if the interference of England
should be tendered, the other Powers will hardly permit it to be
accepted in quietude. I am no prophet, but however much Europe may boast
of her intellectual advancement, and point, as she may, to her sons of
mind, the innate love of destruction is so clearly marked on the
character of mankind, that, at any, the least provocation, war may
trample again on liberty and peace with all the increased malice and
horror of the Bonaparte dynasty."

Not many of the company would support me, but thought better of their
kind. I am now pleased that I then stood alone; for recent events have
shown how, in the midst of the most intellectual era since the world's
formation, glittering not only with the fruit of man's mental garden,
but beautified by the miracles of his manual skill, the total subversion
of conventional and political order is severe