The Sun.
London, England, 1855-07-12 00:00:00

(Prom the Correspondent of the Times.)
BEItLiN, July 9.—lt appears to be a very pre-
valent opinion at home that the Prussian Royal
family and the Court here are bound hand and
foot, and sold body and soul to Russia. If we
could make up our minds never to expect anything
more of Prussia than we have at the present mo-
ment, this erroneous opinion might be left un-
touched as a harmless delusion ; but, as this war
will last many a year yet, and it is only towards
the close of it that Prussia can possibly cooperate
actively, I will endeavour to show how far this
view of the Russian tendencies of Prussia is cor-
rect or the reverse, in order that we may shape
our course and our language accordingly. The
before-mentioned view is based on the fact of a
Prussian Princess being the consort of the Em-
peror of Russia who was reigning at the time of
this conflict being brought about by him, on the
very strong presumption of there being a power-
ful party at Court here imbued with Russian
sympathies, and the patent fact that Prussia
has not openly and actively joined us in the
struggle against Russia. The three facts are
correct, but the imputed cause of Prussia's
policy is incorrect ; there are so many perfectly
valid reasons, military, financial, political, and
economical to withhold Prussia from taking a for-
ward part in the war, however convinced King,
Ministers, and people may be of the necessity of
the present opportunity of asserting
profiting y
the independence of the country, that we have no
need to suppose feelings of brotherly affection on
the part of the King, or political sympathies for
Russia on the part of certain members of the Court,
to have been more than subordinate accessories in
determining the course that Prussia has hitherto
taken. Anybody who wishes to write an apology
t )r Prussia need only take Lord Clarendon's speech
io defence of Austria (House of Lords, June 26th),
substituting the name of one German Power for
that of the other, and adding, that while Austria
has a standing army at command, Prussia has sel-
dom more than 150,000 men, and they recruits,
under arms ; and that Austria has a direct and
immediate interest in the settlement of the Eastern
question, while Prussia has only a remote and in-
direct one. Prussia has further a positive interest
in the realisation of the third of the four guarantee
points not taking the form of a reduction of the
Russian maritime power in the Black Sea, which
would only drive that Power to avail herself the
more of the Baltic as a cruising-ground for her
nacent fleet, but, as far as I am aware, this objec-
tion has not yet been urged by her in any of her
diplomatic notes or other intercourse.
To return to the supposed Russian sympathies
of the Royal family. In spite of the King's having
a sister on the throne of Russia, and of having re-
ceived his father's deathbed injunctions always to
seek the welfare of Prussia in an intimate alliance
with Russia and Austria, his first independent act
after mounting the throne was to visit England, to
make himself popular there, and to lose no oppor-
tunity since then, consistent with State interests, of
manifesting his goodwill towards us. Previous to
the various street riots of 1848, which went to make
up the miscalled revolution in Prussia, that King
had already advanced considerably in the career
(though, according to our notions, but slowly) of
reform and development, and at the very time when
the rebellion in Vienna broke out General Radowitz
was on his road thither on a mission from the
King, with the object of dissolving or thoroughly re-
constituting the German Band, the one insuperable
obstacle to political progress in Germany. All the
tastes, tendencies, and sympathies of the King are
the very reverse of all that we mean when we
designate anything as characteristically Russian ;
and, however, much brotherly affection he doubt-
less entertains for his sister, the Dowager Empress
of Russia, there is no difference of opinion among
those acquainted with Palace life here as to the
nature of his sentiments towards the late Emperor
when alive and in the plenitude of his power.
Neither the Emperor Alexander during the Con-
gress of Vienna, nor the Emperor Nicholas at the
different Conferences at Warsaw, ever showed any-
thing but the most sovereign disregard for the in-
terests of Prussia, and the whole continued course
of commercial andfrontier intercourse between Rus-
sia and Prussia ever since 1813 has been one con-
tinued breach of treaty by the former. The conduct
of the Civil Government of Russia towards Prussia
ever since the conclusion of the long continental war
has been in strict harmony with the conduct of its
armies whilst co-operating in the struggle against
France, and abing on Prussian soil in the quality
of friends and allies. To suppose that the King of
Prussia can shut his eyes to all these and a long
further catalogue of grievances against Russia

known to all his well-informed subjects, is to sup- I
pose that the most intellectual and. widely-informed
man within these frontiers, the friend and associate
of Radowitz and Humboldt, is stupidly blind and
ignorant, or cursed with a fatuity that would re-
move him beyond the pale of responsible rational
beings. The character of the King of Prussia is
not at all likely ever to be portrayed thoroughly
and impartially, for those whose mental vision
would not be distorted by any personal rela-
tion to him are at too great a distance from
him to become perfectly acquainted with its
details. His multifarious knowledge, his versatile
talents, his richly inventive fancy, and his
facility for passing himself off in a variety of
characters would prevent any one (and the more so
the better he is informed) from inditing in a single
work any thorough description of him ; he would
entangle himself in a maze of paradoxes ; on-the
other hand, it would not be difficult to compile two
separate pamphlets on this subject, one of which
should contain all the good and noble features of
the King's character, borne out by authentic anec-
dotes of his life ; the other all those many ble-
mishes of character which are the inevitable con-
sequences of human weakness accustomed to all
but absolute power. I am. free to assert, however,
that the former of , these two pamphlets would be
by far the thicker of the two, and that in the latter
there would be no trace of vice, or of any of the
failings vulgarly attributed to him.
There is another circumstance that inevitably
keeps the present King of Prussia in an antagonism
with the Emperors of Russia. While they strive
to obtain an openly acknowledged protectorate
over the Christians of the Greek Church, Frederick
William of Prussia labours silently but unremit-
tingly to attain the moral pre-eminence of the
champion of Evangelical Protestantism. Thus, he
has erected, in connection with the Prussian Em-
bassy in Rome, a chapel and a hospital ; the same iu
Constantinople, with the addition of a burialgrou nd.
He shares with our Queenl the patronage of the See
fortoifieJfehrluidsas.lemile which he provides the whole of
was
ee foremost in the mediation for
the Madiai with Grand Duke of Tuscany, &-e.
By his knowledge
of
the tenets, history, and rites
is unremitting surveillance
and
of its discipline,fro the fact of his having
built half of the present
put steeples on the other rches in Prussia, and
half, he is entitled more
than most monarchs to be considered the head of his
church.
proportion as he vindicates this claim
lie enters into a rivalry with the Emperorsih im os
himself
Rus-
sia, tuhse-
sia, and in proportion as he constitutes
champion of Evangelical Protestantism he insti-
tutesthr ean antagonism with his neighbouring
poten-
tate, in whose dominions there are
greaterli,en e
and a. half of Evangelical Protestants, thee
part of whom are located contiguous to Prussi ,
Of the Prince of Prussia it will not be necessary
for 'no to say a word ; he is too well known
in
England for him by any possibility to fall under the
imputation of Russianly sympathies. The same
applies in a still higher degree to the Princess.
Prince Charles (Kar), however, is the recognised
champion and advocate of Russian policy, in-
fluence, alliance, and character at Berlin ; what
circumstances may have influenced this peculiar
idiosyncrasy on the part of a Prince of the Blood
in Prussia, or whether this perversion of mind is
of spontaneous natural growth, I would rather
leave untouched, on the homely principle of " least
said soonest mended." It would, however, be doing
the King a manifest injustice, and overrating
Prince Charles immensely to imagine thatthe latter
has any influence over the former in any matter of
moment. Prince Albrecht's name need not be in-
troduced at all upon the when speaking of
political influencestapir
being the , and i only mentioned now as
Youngest of the Royal brothers.
Popular wit in Berlin furnished many 2,-cars ago
the following cata/ raisonne of the characteris-
tics of the ofPrinces°e
the Blood Royal in Prussia :
The King_Good and
Prince of Prusei Goud c.uvhe:t: not clever.
Prince Charles—Clever but u
Prince Albrecht—Neithercleuvtergunoodr.good.
I cannot say that I have ever heard
anything that
tends to invalidate the correctnessoaftfie above es-
timate, due allowance being, of course 2. mad for
the terseness of expression so essential toe
the
epigram.

It is not usual to hear the Queen', name
mon_
with p(thtics ; the only
boned in connection
of activity in which she reveals herself to leer sub-
jects is in works of charity and benevolence ;ill
these she is very indefatigable, but .A is noticed
that the turn and tendency of the institutions
which she most patronises have a Roman Catholic
colour. By birth a Bavarian, she is believed to
sympathise chiefly with Austria, the protectress
of the Roman Church in Germany, and with
whom Bavaria has for the most part of late gone
hand in hand, and most of all jtit now that
the young Emperor has married a Bavarian
Prineev. The influence that the Queen Lae