burg, the birthplace of the great middleage hero. Professedly, the visit is one of sympathy and condolence with the Austrian Emperor on account of the fate of the illadvised and ill-fated Maximilian; really, it is one of high political significance, in which matters of the deepest interest will be debated between the two Emperors with all the freedom which personal intercourse allows. The visits of the other Emperors and Kings to Paris were visits of form and courtesy, whereas that of the Austrian monarch was looked forward to as one of friendship and political meaning. The importance of the meeting is not diminished by the circumstance that it has not taken place in Paris in the first instance, but in Salzburg. The House of Savoy lost much at Custozza, | largest portion of the dominion of Charleit loses more by resistance to necessary re- magne, is to take place in the town of Salzductions, most by the absurdly exaggerated rumours to which that resistance gives rise. If there were a House of Orleans in Italy the throne might fall in a popular outburst, and even as it is the danger is regarded as a menacing one. It is not that there is attack, so much as a total absence of hearty or determined support; not so much that there is hostility, as that there is a decay of loyalty. Any explosion directed against the throne would be a frightful misfortune for Italy, for the alternative is not a Republic which might be strong, but a federation which must be weak. The old traditions live among the people, the South is still unreconciled, Italy has had no grand victory to cement her unity, and, the House of Savoy dismissed, every province would begin asserting its autonomy. Fortunately, the ablest statesmen in Italy feel this till they will bear anything, any misconstruction, any personal sacrifice, rather than Italy shall quarrel with her elected dynasty; but there are limits to parliamentary patience; the party of action is increasing fast in every province, the relations with France are becoming strained, Parisian journals are talking of another "intervention" in Rome, and the one necessity for the King is to sanction, nay, order, a desperate attempt to restore the finances. It may be done even now, if he will but believe that Sella can do it, or will let him try, without believing it; but if he will not, if he trusts to advisers who misapprehend public feeling, if he will not throw himself entirely on his Parliament, which is willing to take extreme measures, the friends of the House of Savoy, among whom all Englishmen may be counted, will, for the first time in the past seven years, be alarmed for its destiny. Italians are like Frenchmen in this at least, that when they speak of the Gov ernment they are always thinking of the King. The Emperor Francis Joseph can hardly be supposed to receive his brother monarch with a genuine feeling of pleasure. Napoleon has been to him and his House the source of too many losses and sorrows to make his presence agreeable. Magenta and Solferino, Sadowa and Mexico must constantly recur to his mind in the presence of his Imperial visitor; and if situations were not stronger than feelings, it is highly improbable that Napoleon III. would ever be a guest at the Court of Francis Joseph. France and Austria, however, have now no object of contention to keep them divided and hostile. The kingdom of the Lombards, conquered by Charlemagne, remained for centuries the cause of enmity and war between his successors in the East and West, but that having been removed by the erection of the Kingdom of Italy, a common political interest would naturally draw France and Austria together without the accidental occurrence of a mutual calamity. It must be borne in mind that it was the timely interference of France which saved Vienna, and probably the Austrian Empire, after the battle of Sadowa. Count Bismarck would not have stopped short in his work of creating a United Germany if he had been allowed to deal with Austria alone. The result of French interference has been From the Examiner, 10 Aug. that German Unity has yet to be constitut THE MEETING OF THE EMPERORS. ed. People talk as if the German nation was now a compact and united body, with IT appears that the arrangements for the Prussia at its head. But that is by no visit of the Emperor and Empress of the means the case, and when it is said that French to the Emperor and Empress of "the consolidation of German nationality is Austria, immediately after the Napoleon a material guarantee of European tranquilfete on the 15th of August, have been com- lity," the very opposite view is much nearer pleted. The interview between the two the truth. The consolidation of German monarchs, who divide between them the nationality can only be effected by the ab is absurd to think that the Emperors Napoleon and Francis Joseph are going to meet next week to shed unavailing tears over the corpse of Maximilian. They will most assuredly discuss the German and the European problem - not to speak of the East which is every day more and more demanding a solution. It is a consolation to believe that whether the issue be peace or war, the cause of liberty will gain. Except in France, it seems to be admitted that one of the most powerful of national agencies abroad is liberty at Austria, which was the last and firmest stronghold of despotism, has awakened from her long trance, and, under the guidance of a Protestant statesman, Catholic Austrians have demanded the abolition or revision of the Concordat, and the Government have made all subjects equal in the eye of the law. The free thought of Germany will make itself heard, in spite of the militaryism or Cæsarism, whether of Prussia or of Austria. The Italian Government has made alliance with the patriots of the Left, whose capital will be Rome; England has made a stride in Reform which has surprised and astounded even herself; and we have strong hopes that France, which should be first, and is last, in the race of liberty, may attain her true place in the field of Freedom, whatever may be the decision of her Emperor, in consultation with Francis Joseph of Austria. sorption of the South Germans and Aus- -now From the London Review, 10 Aug. THE MEETING OF THE EMPERORS AT AN event which, according to the newsmongering speculators of the Continent, must be pregnant with the most momentous political results, and which, in fact, may possess a certain political significance, is fixed to take place on the 16th of the present month. Napoleon III.and Francis Joseph meet, once more as at Villafranca, face to face. Since that famous interview in the hot summer of 1859, how many visible changes have been wrought in the European Commonwealth, how many silent and all but unheeded revolutions have accomplished themselves. Austria, whose aggression had been daunted, but whose strength and even prestige had been hardly impaired by Solferino, has been stricken down helpless and despised by the terrible ruin of Sadowa. And as the power of the Hapsburg House has waned, its old rivals, the House of Hohenzollern and the House of Savoy, have thriven by its fall. North Germany is united and free; Italy is united and free. The patient endurance of Hungarian patriotism has been rewarded by unwilling concession of that independence for which Deak and his brave followers so long and so unwaveringly struggled. Each of these changes would have sufficed to uproot the power of the firmest dynasty in Europe; all in fatal combination have reduced the Austrian monarchy to political nothingness. Yet it cannot be said that he who was in great part the author of these revolutions, and who certainly expected most to profit by them, has seen his anticipations realized. To diminish the Austrian influence by erecting on either side a confederation of small States hostile to the Hapsburgs, and therefore subservient to French dictation, this was unquestionably what Napoleon III. had hoped both from the war of 1859 and the war of 1866. Every thing that he has intrigued for has failed. His Frankenstein-craft has raised up in Italy no despicable rival to his domination, and in Prussia a far more formidable and dangerous one. Outside of Europe, the ruin of the Southern Confederacy defeated all his political combinations and compelled him to a disastrous and shameful retreat from Nexico. To fill up the cup of his abasement, he has been doomed to see the Prince, whose throne he had, prided himself on having erected, die the death of a felon at the hands of those whom French proclamations had insulted as crushed and cowardly rebels; and yet the necessities of policy forbid him to think of vengeance. Contrary to his own hopes and the confident prophesies of his admirers, the lapse of years has been far from favourable to the prosperity of the Bonaparte dynasty. The strength of the Emperor Napoleon's position is less assured to-day than it was in 1859 or 1866. What it may be next year few would be rash enough to predict. Under these circumstances, it is not surprising that many should be disposed to see in the approaching meeting of the Emperors the inception of a new political scheme designed to counterbalance the too rapid growth of Prussian and Italian unity, to defeat at once the equally dreaded ideas of Bismarck and Mazzini, But we are bound to recollect that there are other singularly weighty reasons why this interview should take place. It is no part of a newly adopted plan. Early in the year it was understood that the Emperor Francis Joseph, like the Czar, the King of Prussia, and the Sultan, was to accept French hospitality, for the purpose of taking a part in the grand pageant of the Exposition. Nobody then pretended to look on this contemplated visit as in any way significant. Then came, first in vague and flying rumours, afterwards in crushing detail, the miserable story of Maximilian's fate. We need not speak of the bitter anguish which this news must have caused the Austrian Emperor. He had been more or less than human if he had not felt for an instant something like hate and loathing while he remembered that the reckless ambition of Napoleon had done to death his noble brother. On the other hand shame and sorrow and unavailing remorse cannot but have disturbed the French Emperor and made him unwilling to meet the brother of Maximilian. It was felt surely on either side as a relief, that the decencies of mourning interfered to prevent the Austrian Court from taking part in the gaieties of Paris. But when the first feelings of pain and bitterness had worn away, it seemed, no doubt, right that no opportunity should be given to calumny — too much disposed already to insist on the alienation of France from Austria, and to talk of expiation for Maximilian's blood - for further dangerous innuendoes. Austria had favoured equally with France the fatal project of a Mexican empire; Francis Joseph himself had fostered his brother's unhappy ambition. Therefore, all the guilt could not justly be laid at the door of Napoleon. And setting personal considerations aside, every political motive impelled both parties to seem, if not to be, united. Last year to French intervention the Austrian monarch owed his exemption from the crowning ignominy of being hustled from his own capital by the soldiers of Prussia: he may need the like aid again. As for France, for all her wily policy she stands now as isolated in Europe as we do; she will not, cannot, scorn the meanest or the least honourable alliance. Since, then, it was impossible for Francis Joseph to accept the hospitality of the Tuileries, Napoleon III. was invited to Salzburg. There, on the western border of his now straitened dominion, among the invigorating breezes and the sublime scenery of the northern spurs of the Tyrolean Alps, the head of the lapsburgs is passing the melancholy retirement of his mourning; and there he, with his stately and beautiful Empress, is to receive in a few days the French Emperor and Empress. It is not ascertained whether the Imperial guests will be accompanied by any prominent French statesman, but it is distinctly stated, and though once contradicted has been generally believed, that Baron von Beust will be at Salzburg during the three days of the French visit. This, if true, certainly gives a political complexion to an otherwise unimportant occur rence. Under constitutional governments the personal movements of royal personages are little regarded. It is assumed that they seldom influence, even indirectly, the current of political events. But the politics of despotisms are essentially personal, and, except where the ruler is a man of inferior intellect, must largely depend on his individual wishes and opinions. We need say nothing of Napoleon III.; his political capacity and his disposition to keep it in exercise, are acknowledged by everybody. Francis Joseph is not remarkable for ability; but he is industrious and intelligent, and has too much of the obstinacy of his family to remain long contented with being the puppet of any Minister. Notwithstanding, therefore, that in contemplation the visit to Salzburg has no political character, we think it highly improbable that it will terminate without acquiring something of the kind. The Emperors will be sure to discuss, with more or less candour, their position with regard to the other great Powers, and the chances of the further aggrandisement of Russia, Prussia, or Italy. It may be that the vague reports of a Russo-Prussian alliance will be thought of sufficient importance to suggest the natural countermove to such a combination, namely, an alliance between Austria and France. Whether Baron von Beust, who, though reactionary, is thoroughly German, would favour such a scheme may be doubted. Its ultimate, if not its avowed, object could only be to defeat as far as possible, the ends which last year's war had all but secured for Prussia; to hinder, perhaps to undo, the unification of Germany; and, by separating Italy from the Northern alliance, to violate her politically and reduce her practically to the condition of a French viceroyalty. We would not attempt to predict that such plans as these have even a likelihood of being adopted by the Emperors, but it is too much to say that they have no chance of being considered. The tendency both of Napoleonic and of Austrian diplomacy has been favourable to tortuous intrigues and intricate combinations. But whether adopted or not, we have no hesitation in saying that, either to the in terest of the Bonapartes or the Hapsburg such an alliance as that hinted at could only be productive of ultimate misfortunes. To ally France with a cause predestined to ruin, and given over to internal and incurable maladies, would be for Napoleon the acme of political folly. From Austria, hampered by the independence and the suspicion of Hungary, he could rely on no valuable military support, while he would rekindle Italian jealousies, and cut off the moral aid that Liberalism, however unwillingly, has given to the general tenor of his foreign policy. For Francis Joseph the French alliance would be equally dangerous and equally useless. If it were worth thing, if it essayed to destroy German unity, so long desired, so hardly won, it would alienate from him every German heart. His hereditary States would seek by one impulse a refuge and a protection in the Confederation, of which Prussia is the head. any He would be forced to look only for defence and shelter to his Hungarian kingdon, which loving Prussia little, loves France less, and might in the final disruption of the Austrian empire be tempted to cast aside the last vestige of foreign domination the sovereignty of the Hapsburgs. From The Month (Roman Catholic). LIFE IN THE LANDES. If we look at a map of the south-western corner of France, we shall probably be struck by the appearance of the line of coast which runs up from the point near Bayonne at which the Adour enters the Bay of Biscay to that which marks the limit of the estuary or gulf of the Gironde, where the Garonne, having passed Bordeaux, empties itself into the sea. This line of coast, which extends, to speak roughly, for about two degrees, is perfectly straight, and apparently unbroken save by the deep indenture of the Bassin d'Arcachon, which, rather more than halfway along its course as we glance northwards, receives the waters of Legre, the most considerable, as it would seem, of the streams in the intervening tract, and which is also conspicuous on our map as having on its banks the only place in the whole district of sufficient importance to be marked by letters larger than the very smallest-La Tête de Buch. This desolate line, along which some kind map makers write dunes de sable, "sand hills," is more than a third of the whole western coast of France, and would occupy about the space between Plymouth and Portsmouth on our own shores. All along its range, our map shows us a succession of lakes or pools not far from the sea into which such streams as it thinks worthy of record, are seen to empty themselves, without reaching the sea beyond. Desolation seems to extend far inland, for our worthy hydrographer has set down no names of towns, and very few even of small villages, and he has marked the tract in which they occur as marshy and uncultivated. Of the two departments into which this part of France is divided, this desert seems to occupy a good third of the most northerly- the far-famed Gironde, and more than half of the more southerly, the Landes. The name of this latter, indeed, is given in a general way to the tract of which we speak, which is known as Le Pays des Landes. The more than a few inches in thickness, is so firm and compact a rock as to be imperviable to water, which is thus prevented from sinking into the soil below, and formed into endless shallow and shifting pools. alioz also prevents the growth of any trees whose roots must go deep. The sandhills along the sea coast form the famous dunes. They extend as much as a league and a half in breadth all along the shore. The sand forms itself into mounds, the tops of which are blown to one side or to the other, according to the wind; but as the west wind seems to have it almost its own way along this part of the coast, the progress of the mass of sand is steadily eastwards. By comparing notes with ancient records, we are able to ascertain many instances of the disappearance of towns and villages under this sandy sea. Near the channel of Furnes there used to be seen the steeple of a church buried beneath the surface. Our Cornish readers will think at once of Perranzabuloe. A very interesting monograph on this In several places pine-trees are to be seen apparently most uninviting country has whose top branches alone are now above lately been published in the Correspondant, the sand, their trunks reaching sixty or by Dr. Ozanam brother, we believe, to eighty feet below it. At Mimizan a dune the founder of the Conferences of St. Vin- has swallowed up the church altogether. cent de Paul. It is not our purpose at This place was once a port: it is now three present to speak of all the topics so ably or four miles from the sea. Other ports handled by Dr. Ozanam; we shall content along the coast have disappeared altogether. ourselves with a few of the more prominent In the fourteenth century the dunes turned details. The size of the whole plain or the course of the Adour itself northwards plateau which goes by the name of Les for about twenty miles, and the port at its Landes is about sixty leagues in length by new mouth, Vieux Boucau, was of some twenty in breadth, where its breadth is note for four hundred years. In the sevengreatest. The highest point in the whole is teenth century Gaston de Foix cleared out said not to be raised more than eighty the ancient mouth, and the river returned metres above the sea-level; but there is a to it. Brémontier, whose name will be forcontinuous backbone, as it were, along the ever connected with the process of reclaimwhole length, which serves to shed the wa- ing this desolate tract, calculated, after long ters on one side towards the Bay of Biscay, study, that the dunes advance on the land on the other towards the Mediterranean. at the rate of about twenty yards a year. The aspect of the whole country is that of Taking this as his basis, and measuring their an ocean of sand - a small Sahara. It has extent (in the last century), he found that its waves, frequently moved on by the they had been in motion for rather more strong western winds, changing the position than four thousand years. Deluc had obof pools and marshes, and swallowing up tained a like result by measuring the dunes habitations, and even small villages, in their of Holland. By calculating forwards, the perpetual shiftings. The sand is cast up by startling conclusion has been obtained, that the sea at a rate which was calculated in unless the sand is checked, it will reach the last century as of a million and a quar- Bourdeaux in two thousand years. The ter of cubic metres every year. The winds sand hills of Les Landes will then have have in the course of centuries driven it, as joined those of L'Anuis to the north of the we have said, inland for twenty leagues or Gironde, and these again will communicate So. It rests, for the most part, on a curi- with those of the coast of Finisterre, where ous sand-iron rock called alioz, which is they have gained as much as six leagues in found under it at the depth of about half a two hundred years (near St. Pol de Léon). yard, except near the sea, where the sand is In time, perhaps, they may fill up the Engpiled up sometimes to the heighth of a hun-lish Channel, and render useless the subdred yards. This alioz, though usually not marine railway between Calais and Dover. |