The Press. — London, England, 1855-07-28 00:00:00

JULY 28, 1855. Lombardy under the Austrian yoke. The people are too intelligent not to groan under their degradation, and the Austrians too fearful ever to relax their suspicious and harassing vigilance. Between people and Government there is no one link of sympathy or bond of union. It is only, as Captain Chamier states, a question of time when a new insurrection will break forth. As the author fixed his residence for a time at Naples, it is to that city anti kingdom, and to Sicily, where he staid long enough to make several excursions from Palermo, that the chief part of this book is devoted. Sicily, the most beautiful and fertile country in the world, continues to languish under the most deplo rable misgovernment : Its population is gradually d,!creasing; the interior of the island seems inhabited by a legion of paupers; the population of the cities are heavily taxed, especially in Palermo, where the inhabitants have to pay for the soldiery. There is a general mismanagement iu all departments, which routine continues; and, what is worse than all, there is the low murmur of discontent, arising in the interior from famine, and in the cities from the want ,of sufficient occupation. But some classes, from their numbers, appear to flourish. Sicily is a paradise for monks, nuns, and nobles : The monks. A late account gave the amount of these idlers in the hive of creation at 28,000—whilst the nuns figured for 18,000. In Sicily there are 127 princes ! 78 dukes, 140 mar quises, and no man of the herald-office has ever attempted to number the counts, barons, or chevaliers — they would be more numerous than the monks, and almost as idle. These classes are the only exceptions to the universal decline in Sicily. The very aspect f the people seems changing for the worst, as if humanity without progress must inevitably deteriorate : To a traveller revisiting Sicily, after the lapse of more than a quarter of a century, and whose recollection was rife of the beauty of the women who inhabited this garden of Eden, the astonishment is great at the falling off. I remember the Sicilian women as next in beauty to the English and Americans; but now, amidst the lower classes, there is a livid paleness, a sickly, olive com plexion, which may be attributed to constant exposure to the sun, dirt, or unwholesome diet. If it be true, as is stated in the " Vestiges of Creation," that bad, unwhole some food renders a people ugly, or that the whole physical powers degenerate by the lack of proper nourishment, indifferent clothing, of neglect of cleanliness, the mystery is solved. In ancient times Syracuse had twelve lhun •dred thousand inhabitants, now the population •of the island is only 1,050,000. Railroads are unknown ; gas is refused as savouring of 'heresy ; and by the ordinary course of post .a letter is longer in reaching Palermo from Naples than from London to New York. And •as for the prisons, a gaol in Naples or Rome may set at defiance all "dirty, unhealthy, lousy, disgraceful places," in other parts of .Europe and South America put together, In the chapters descriptive of Naples there :is inserted a memoir by a Neapolitan, who, we •are told, " evidently wrote with the sword of '" Damocles hanging over his head, and even '" now watches lest the hair should snap which '"ouppocto This memoir is of value as in dicating the sentiments of a portion at least of ' , the best educated and most enlightened of 'the Neapolitan people. It is an able sketch of the political history of Naples since the peace, and more particularly of the events of the last seven or eight years. The notices of those English statesmen who have lithin that period been connected with Nea itan politics are marked by great acuteness. Mr. Gladstone arrived in Naples wnen the reac tionary movement from successful revolution to military sway was in full force. The writer .of this memoir says : I was one of the first to be introduced to him. I saw in him a man of great ability and observation ; and, although I never was intimate with him, I never lost sight of him a .minute during his stay at Naples. It is impossible not to Irecognise in this man the most distinguished talent, coupled with a keen and vigilant observation ; more so, indeed, 'than is generally found in men of his political preeminence ; and I gladly record my opinion of the sincerity of his intentions, and the perfect loyalty of his character. 'The character of Sir W. Temple is more subtly sketched : • For a very long time the post of Minister Plenipotentiary to the King of the Two Sicilies has been held by Sir W. Temple. The English Government, in its far-seeing policy, had ever) maintained the strictest amity with the Bourbons of Naples : they had sheltered and protected them in Naples and Sicily during the, invasions by the THE PRESS. French in 1799, and of the occupation by M urat, and assisted them by force of arms to le-obtainthetr usurped throne. It is true, Great Britain reaped a certain betiefit by commercial treaties, never ceasing io interfere on either side of the Faro of Messina. I shall not andeavour to explain the marked change of conduct of England towards Naples whenever Lord Pal merston has held office —I will not impute it either to the fault of the Neapolitan Government, or to Sir William Temple. I have known Sir William for many years; 1 have been forced to study his character under all its dif ferent shades, either as a public or a private man. Sir William has received from nature almost as much talent as his illustrious brother, Lord Palmerston ; and if his capa city were not somewhat weakened by want of exercise, I have no doubt that England would possess in him, if not an able orator, most certainly a very great and profound politician. Unfortunately, energy is not one of Sir Wil liam's virtues; he loves tranquillity, repose, conviviality : whilst he rebukes my countrymen with the eternal re proach of the " Dolce far niente," I fearlessly avow 1 never knew a more perfect faiseur de rien than Sir William. With a talent capable of sublimity, he remains from inclination inactive. Sarcastically witty, and clever, he might be amusingsbut he fears the applause might startle his lethargy. A thorough gentleman, in its most comprehensive sense, he might have friends—but then these frieuls might disturb his repose. He loves Naples ; it is warm in winter, and in summer it can bo changed : there is nothing of importance to be done—if there is, the appearance of a few ships from Malta would be more persuasive than dip lomatic notes. Whenever anything troublesome does occur, this Minister is never at his post ; if this arises from instruc tions, calculations, or combinations, who knows ? As it is said that in viewing a portrait of some person whose face is unknown to us, we can from the distinctness of the features and the expression form some judgment whither the likeness be a good one, we may in similar manner decide that this description of the King of Naples has all the air of being true to the original : Ferdinand Ir. is the upholder of justice, and a defender of the laws; his intentions are good and sincere. Endowed with no mean talent, and with a wonderful memory, he instantly perceives the sterling from the tinsel qualities, and he treasures the remembrance of what is good; he has a perception and finesse quite Sicilian. In private life, and as a father of a family, his most bitter enemies give him his due credit for morality and affection ; his manner, full of ease and kindness, makes a favorable impression on all who approach him. His educa tion, which was sufficient for a private individual, was certainly insufficient for a king in these perilous times. If, instead of confiding his youth to the instruction of the Bishop:Olivieri, who neglected the requisite quality of a sound politician, and engrafted in his Majesty an extreme of religion, some man, more conversant in the world's ways, more instructed in the useful book of history, and more conversant with modern politics, had been his instructor, I have no doubt but his Majesty would have been acknow ledged a wiser and a better king. He is generous without being vain ; is merciful and forgiving, when such virtues can be exercised without danger to the State. His good common sense made him resist, in 1831, the tempting allurement to ambition, of placing himself at the head of the Italian movement, and thus was saved from the calamity which afterwards was fatal to Charles Albert. Ho always preferred and maintained the individuality of his kingdom, disliking foreign interference, either by himself or others. In the instructions given by the King in his own handwriting to Deliaretto, these words are found, : " Non roglio rieoluzioni—non roglio Tedeschi ;" but he never would yeild his right to reign and govern ; and fearing a too powerful Ministry, he has always counter balanced one Minister of a certain tendency, by another of a contrary one; so that a coalition of the whole, which might endanger his own authority, could never occur. If he has good qualities, he is not exempt from the general failing of all men ; he has but little confidence in any man, and a general suspicion of all, and especially those nearest to him. In every action he sees some secret motive ; and rarely, if ever, believes a good action can spring from a vir tuous design. Revolutions, it must be admitted, are dan gerous experiments, leading, as they frequently do, to the results which have attended them in Naples : It is astonishing how a despotism following a revolution enriches the sovereign, and deteriorates the currency ; but certainly, we find a man who bad not enough silver to jingle on a tombstone, suddenly voting himself one million two hundred thousand pounds sterling a year, and by a new coinage making a penny less than a halfpenny — rather a fortunate youth, if money makes happiness. To the well-stored mind of Captain Chamier the places visited by him frequently recal some attractive anecdote. The following, suggested by a visit to the top of St. Peters , at Rome, must relate to the fate of Admiral Price, who perished so unfortunately in the Pacific : How age can unnerve a man ! and what a vast difference there is between physical and moral courage ! Men who despised death and raced every danger in the battlefield, have been known to run away from a rat; they call that cowardice, by the name of antipathy. It is now many years ago that a midshipman, one of those dare-devil boys whose nerves were strung to any danger, mounted the cross on the top of St. Peters, and actually stood erect upon it. A gust of wind might have 719 burled him headlong to inevitable death ; hut there be stood, m spite of the giddy height, and afterwards descended in perfect safety, leaving his handkerchief •s • record of his daring; there was no pickpocket of the church or the Co►so bold enough to take that. This mid shipman rose thr o ugh the ditferent grades of the service, pertorm►ng ma►►y a►►d ma►►y a gallant action—for few men saw more tighting,and none exhibited more courage—until he became an admiral. The peace had changed his life, from scent* of activity and danger to domestic quiet aud a wile, but he still sighed fur employment; and at last, as the garden of Eden, the Admiralty, had exhausted the standard fruits, this gallant, excellent, kind, and brave officer acquired a command. The war broke out, there was no man more forward, no man more eager to face the enemy, and, in conjunction with some ships of our ally, he appeared off a Russian port : there lay two frigates of the enemy, the fortifications were not very imposing, the place was recon noitred, and it was resolved to attack it. Now came the necessity of moral courage, the physical had been beyond doubt; he was the commander-in-chief of the station, he might fail, his ships might be crippled by the batteries, or sunk, for anything may occur in war, and then our wade might have severely suffered. At this moment he had no resolution; be had neither the requisite courage to face the danger or withdraw from it, and he committed suicide the very night before the attempt was to be made. One would suppose that, at any rate, he would have made the attack; and there was plenty of time, if he failed, to com mit the rash act, if he feared that bugbear, " responsi bility." liut he is not alone : many officers— Collingwood, for instance—as brave as a lion in the fight, are more afraid of " responsibility " than a child of a ghost. Apart from the merits we have noticed, the book contains some admirable notes on tea• yelling, which intending tourists would do well to preserve. The author travelled vetturino from France to Naples—the most convenient way, after all, for persons who have plenty of time to spare. Considering that the captain had three ladies with him and an immense quantity of luggage, we think he was quite right in concluding that he made an excellent bargain with his king of vetturinos, Signor Mosti By ten the next morning I was an engaged man, and wedded, as far as the contract went., to Mosti, for at least three months. He was to take me over the Simplon to Milan, Florence, Bologna, Bowe, and Naples ; he was to wait a week at Milan, three weeks M Florence, two days at Bologna, and twenty eight days at home; he was to put up wherever I indicated ; and if the ladies felt inclined to remain a day or two at ['arms, Placentia, Modena, or anywhere else, the good-natured Lodi would make nu objection whatever ; and the price was to be one thou sand four hundred francs, with the buonarnano included, although I might, if I thought proper, give. anything more which 1 thought right, in consequence of the stop pages. The luggage having arrived at Geneva from Lyons, the whole was mustered over-night for inspection, and frankly own I was ashamed of the burden to be dragged by four or five horses; and when I reflected that in my written engagement Mosti had covenanted to pay all tolls, ferries, extra horses, and every charge which could be made, so that, under any circumstances, 1 wee only to pay fifteen hundred francs, I thought I had made rather a good bargain. Some of the vetturino's sayings in connection with Rome aro worth preservation : If you see a shadow close to your own, step aside in• stantly. Do not believe the cardinal virtues etiat because there are plenty of cardinals. Never get in the dark streets or narrow lanes after dark ; and if you must walk there, always keep in the middle of the road. Look well at the vase before you purchase it ; flaws in China, like Roman virtue, are only discovered by the closest inspection. Never look at those who wish to conceal themselves ; a pretty woman never wears a veil a lover's eye cannot see throtigh. As for the hotel expenses while travelling, the author found that they averaged at the best hotels about forty-five francs per day fur six persons ; and concerning these hotels, which may be considered the best, some trustworthy information is given here which might be use• fully added to Mr. Murray's Italian red books. We are not disposed to quarrel with the political opinions held by so agreeable and en tertaining a tourist as our author, but pru dence might have suggested some reserve in the utterance of harsh sentiments concerning a sovereign with whom we are in close reliance, and whose life is constantly in danger from the assassin's aim. We regret this blemish in a book distinguished by so many good qualities, and calculated to afford so much pleasure to its readers. The Crimea: Its Ancient and Modern History. By the Rev. Thomas Milner, M.A., F.R.A.S. Lon don : Longmans. Tins volume gives us the history of the Crimea, both domestic and political, from the days of the Argo nauts to its complete annexation by Russia in 1t302.