a. Nor was it his fault if the English Cabinet
or the rest of the world remained unenlightened. Besides enlarging on
this truth in frequent diplomatic communications, he caused it to be
continually dwelt upon in the Vienna _Observer_, the organ of the
Austrian Government, which printed illustrative quotations from the
writings of Mazzini, of whom it said that 'he has the one merit of
despising hypocrisy, and proceeding firmly and directly to his true
end. Persons who are versed in history will know that this is exactly
the same end as that at which Arnold of Brescia and Cola di Rienzi
formerly aimed. The only difference is, that the revolutionary dream
has in the course of centuries gained in self-reliance and
confidence.' It may truly be affirmed after this that Metternich 'had
the one merit of despising hypocrisy.' Exactly the same end as Arnold
of Brescia and Cola di Rienzi--who better could have described the
scheme of Italian redemption?

In the course of the summer of 1847, the Prince said more than once to
the British Ambassador: 'The Emperor is determined not to lose his
Italian dominions.' It was no idle boast, the speaker felt confident,
that the troops in Lombardy and Venetia could keep those provinces
from taking an active part in the 'revolution' which he declared to be
already complete over all central Italy, though the word revolution
had never yet been mentioned. Nor was it only in the Austrian army
that he trusted; Metternich was persuaded that neither in Lombardy nor
in Venetia was there any fear of a really popular and, therefore,
formidable movement. He believed that Austria's only enemy was the
aristocracy. He even threw out hints that if the Austrian Government
condescended to do so, it could raise a social or peasants' war of the
country people against their masters. This is the policy which has
been elaborately followed by the Russians in Poland. The Austrians
pointed to their virtue in not resorting to it; but some tentative
experiments in such a direction had not given results of a kind to
encourage them to go on. The Italian peasant, though ignorant, had a
far quicker innate intelligence than his unfortunate Polish brother.
He did not dislike his masters, who treated him at least with easy
familiarity, and he detested foreigners--those foreigners, no matter
of what nation, who for two thousand years had brought the everlasting
curse of war upon his fields. The conscription, which carried off h