The Press.
London, England, 1856-07-12 00:00:00

itcraturt.

The Subalpine Kingdom ; or, Experiences and
Studies in Savoy, Piedmont, and Genoa.
By Bayle St. John. Two Vols. London :
Chapman and Hall.
SCARCELY any name is so often presented to
the literary critic in our times as that of
" St. John," with a variety of imposing pre-
fixes not easily recollected. The works with
which it is associated are, generally, of the
same character. They have always au attractive
subject, discussed in a showy style, in which
the solid and superficial are united with a
skill that attests proficiency in the noble craft
of bookmaking. The literary accomplishment
shown in their pages proves that, if their
writers chose, or if they had leisure, writings
of more permanent value might be expected
from their pens. But literary photographs
cannot be accepted as elaborated pictures, nor
can graceful records of first impressions be
taken in lieu of thoughtful books of travels.
It may happen with literature as with archi
facture. Our streets are in danger of becoming
prolonged deceptions, under the constant em-
ployment of " compo," and the artistic eye is
beginning to find that the reality of red brick
had at least the beauty of truth. Something
of the same sort is occurring with books.
Travels, and works professing to deal with
facts, have now fallen into the hands of
resthetical describers, reeling under " the
over-soul "; and in perusing descriptions of
foreign and complex states of society, we often
are made to wish for the accuracy of Arthur
Young, the sober truthfulness of Edward
Daniel Clarke, or the scientific observation of
Humboldt. On a certain class of subjects,
religious and Oriental, the styles of Chateau-
briand and Lamartine may have appropriate
beauty ; but, as a general rule, imaginative
minds are not the best for works that must
grapple with opinion.
Mr. Bayle St. John's new performance is
vaned in its character, dealing in pictorial
sketches and political discussions, interspering
some fancies with many facts, mixing personal
gossip with speculative dissertation, being
sometimes half lachrymose about Italian
liberty, and often not a little lackadaisical on
things in general. It is an agreeable book, at
this season, for the circulating-library, and we
may safely recommend it to the book clubs.
But we cannot accord to it higher political
authority than may be given to the fluent
compositions which we read from the "Foreign
Correspondents" of the morning papers We
may say that , with many readers, the effect of
a perusal of these volumes will be, in common
phrase, the " throwing of a wet blanket "
upon any high hopes from Piedmont. He
says :

It seems very evident to me that, diplomatically speaking,
that Government has placed itself in a false position; but
whether it was urged to do so by overweening self confi-
dence or by perfidious suggestions, I do not pretend to
decids.

As king of a small State, taking its title from a distant
island, according to an arrangement made towards the
beginning of last century, Victor Emmanuel, despite the
services his army might have rendered in the Crimea, has
little claim to speak authoritatively at the present crisis,
even on Italian affairs. His true policy would have been
to get himself tacitly acknowledged as King of Liberal
Italy—if it would not have been considered derogatory to
succeed M. Mazzini as King of Subterranean Italy. In
these volumes I have unfortunately been obliged to show,
that for many years the Piedmontese Government, em-
bracing with joy rather than accepting with resignation
the bumble and solitary career assigned to it by the treaty
of Novara, laboured with success to separate its fortunes
from those of the Progress party in Italy. All its recent
attempts at assuming an independent position are based
on the supposition that democracy is worn out and dia.
couraged.

Then on the next page Mr. St. John ob-
serves :

Catholicism is declared the State religion by the first
article in the Constitution. This is one of the chief reasons
why it is difficult for Royalty and Liberalism in Italy to
act together. The real Liberal party know very well that
they can never achieve much good without the overthrow
of the Papacy as a temporal power, and, in fact, its expul-
sion from the peninsula. This is why they will no doubt
receive with astonishment the very ill-judged letter from
Daniel Mani'', calling on the Romans to remain quiet,
because of the presence of the French. A revolution is
not advisable at the present moment; but when it does
take place it must commence at Rome, unless some other

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