The Sun.
London, England, 1857-08-27 00:00:00

The State Policy of Modern Europe from the .In-
ginning of the Sixteenth Century to the present
time. 2 vols. Longman.
This very remarkable and laborious work, is, in
facie a summary of European history for the last
three centuries. Beginning with the eventful
rivalry between Francis I. and Charles IT., at which
time he considers the basis of modern statecraft
was laid, the author brings us down, through all the
greet coalitions and dissensions, struggles and paci-
fications of subsequent history, te the Russian war
of our own day. .11's purpose is not with the
warrior favourites of history, not with brilliant feats
of arms or daring achievements, but with theesesret
conferences and diplomatic influences which; often
marred the fortunes and trifled with the deslinies
of great nations., He leads his readers far away
from the clash of swords and the thunders of the
cannonade, to lift the veil from the dark ant dis-
tant Cabinet which alternately ruled and was tuled
by the changing fortunes cf the battle-field. Thus
he bestows more pages on Cal dinal Richelieu than
lines on Gustavus Adolphus, and while recounting
at length the manoeuvres of Metternich, gives but
a sentence to the battle of Waterloo. He gives
few details, he enters into no discussions, his
opinions or preferences are only implied, but be is
careful to keep before his reader the prominence
of that statecraft which was .in reali y so pot,nt,
and which, though it would have been
powerless, unsupported by the trained armies
and great generals of the different epochs, .
was often sua.iieut to overrule their actions,
to influence their position, an I sometimes
to render their efforts fruitless. The following ob-
servations, from the introductory page 4, exemplify
the scope and object of the work. The writer )3
speaking of the beginning of the lixteenth cen-
tury
"It was at the beginning of this century, after the
acquisition of vast possessions by the Hapsburg dynasty,
that the several European Courts commenced to be
guided by one common idea; the necessity of the union.
of many weak states against strong ones, and that the
art of Diplomacy leaped into birth. It was then that
the destinies of each country became by degrees more
dependent on the prudence of i s negociatore or minis-
ters, than on the talents of its generals,.and that the
human mind began to witness a process in the rise and
fail of states, equally unknown to antiquity and to the
_middle ages. Thus we shall find that, unlike the narrow
rivalry of Athens and Sparta, of Rome and Carthage,
that of France, with the House cf Austria, called forth
into existence new powers, such as the Netherlands and
Sweden, and that by the_ force of an oft:Wished idea—
the Balance of Power—an idea not unfrequently miss
conceived and made the pretext of war—there took
place a series of territorial divisions and exchanges: of
provinces, of which the ancients had not even the most
confused conception. And though the victors of Mara-
thon and Salamis may, without disadvantage, be pLesed
beside an Adolphus or a Drake, the Anophyctionic Coun-
cil and Adman League must assuredly sink to the level
of a parish meeting, when compared to the diplomatic
assemblies of Westphalia, Utrecht, and Vienna. Bat
though no one will cad in question the political superio-
rity of Modern Europe over the preceding ages, we are
somewhat apt to I>se sight of the invisible monarchs, the
diplomats ; a race of men unknown to antiquity,
and who, if among them be many a cowardly,
unscrupulous mercenary, have on the other hand
in their ranks many an hero, true as Leonidas, and vic-
torious as Cm4ar. Nor does ancient history furnish us
the example more than once exhibited in modern his-
tory, of a small state ruled over by an imbecile or a boy
monarch, raised into grandeur solely by the genius of a
minister. It would, however, be unjust, in thus eulo-
gising modern statesmanship, to lose sight of the low,
almost increditle, court intrigues, though the least flat-
tering phenomenon in modern history is, no doubt, the
long reign of dynasties both beloved and detested, and
that, in many instances, over peoples with whom they
had nothing in common, save the image of man.
"Toe task I propose to myself, is to show how and
by whom the great state combinations were formed, in
what degree they affected the minor states, often happy
to be allowed to remain spectators of the events passing
around them, and to point out the motives and the spit it
of the principal wars, alliances, and treaties of peace ;
in short, to review the international history of Europe
during the last three hundred years. The task, indeed,
is of no ordinary kind, and while the vast resources of
information connected with the subject invite research,
the conflicting testimonies of great authorities are such
as rather to oiscouraze the candid historian. To the
best of my ability, however, 1 shall attempt to sift the
truth from amidst the bewildering involutions of diplo-
macy, and the misstatements of historians, innocent or
designed.
Notwithstanding this tribute to statesmen, it is
but a melancholy panorama that the writer pre-
sents to view, and such he seems to find it, to judge
by the despondency of his closing sentences. Few
are the names as eminent for rectitude as for genius,
and fewer still those that combine with those quali-
ties, those enlarged and liberal views, that foresight
and sense of progress that can alone qualify indivi-
duals to regulate the destinies of great nations.
The work is divided into four periods. The first
tracing the rise of diplomacy in the wars of France
and Spain, the wars of the Netherlands, and the
career of ieuri Quatre ; the second, from 1618 to
to 1715,_ chronicles the eventful century of the
Thirty Years war, the reign of Richelieu and
Mazarin, the wars of LouisXlV., and ends with
the peace of Utrecht ; the third epoch, from 1715
to 1790, shows the degeneracy of diplomacy and
describes the general embroilment of Europe, the
wars of the Austrian succession, the Seven. Years
war, the first Partition of Poland and the American
war ; the fourth part, which occupies the whole of
the second volume, is called the " Conflict be-
tween Revolution and Diplomacy," and delineates
the chief events of the last sixty-five years. Open-
ing with the first encounter between revolutionary
France and the Cabinets, it traces Napoleon's
fluctuating fortunes in diplomacy, it displays the
machinations of the Holy Alliance, the Greek war,
the events of 1848, and the war in the Crimea.
The latter chapters claim careful considerationfrom
the admirers of Lord Aberdeen. The hesitating
tone and temporising answers of the English
Cabinet assuredly do not look very well in histori-
cal records. As he has purposely avoided the most
exciting and romantic portion of history and has
not endeavoured to form a gallery of portraits,
the reader must not expect in this work the inte-
rest that has made some histories so attractive.
In the present day, however, when the art of
government and the science of statecraft are favou-
rite subjects for inquiry and observation, when po-
litical knowledge is so widely extended, and when
we are so fond of boasting of our advancement in
wisdom and morality, it will be not uninstructive
to turn to the annals of political history,. to com-
pare the present with the past, and to question
whether the diplomacy of the nineteenth century
has a smaller share of vacillation and subterfuge
than that of its predecessors. As an historical sum-
mary and a work of reference, the volumes before
us can scar.ely be over-estimated. They are not,
of course, suitable for those unacquainted with
history, as they constantly refer to events, and for
a general history the intrigues of cabinets have too
much prominence. For the general reader they
are not attractive, the writer either being unable
or unwilling to lend them the interest of style and
manner, but for the politician, who would consult
the records of the past, who would gather the
warnings of the statesman's experience—for the
reader who would refer to the Ministerial move-
ments of distant years—for all who would study
the rise and fall of nations, despite, or it may be
in consequence of, the arrogance of princes and
manoeuvres of statesmen, this work presents a wide
and important field of study.

FEMALE PHYSICIANS IN THE UNITED STATES.--The
eighth annual announcement of the Female Medical
Co'lege of Pennsylvania, for the session 1857.58, has been
published. It appears from it that the faculty consists
of seven profes ors, of whom two are ladies—Ann
Echmeline
Pres-
ton, M.D., Professor of Physiology ; and
Cleveland Horton, M.D., Professor of Anatomy and
Histology, and Demonstrator of Anatomy. Since the
foundation of the college
arts theroe have
been
ion ; 164
twomatricu.
lants. They are from all pfn from
England, and one from Canada. The sixth annual nom-
mencement was held on Saturday, Feb. 28, when the
degree of M.D. was conferred by the President, Professor
Moon,ii Dn Charlesa
Virginia,.cvD .. Be rl isnv te
olman nu, dtpu,
ea
rlio
nnrs
relation
lhiavet
Pennsylvania,
onf following la ladiesl,obrwehtienwugeme rheumatism;
ti
sc ma r
;d: —i
Oa Boni lei
azßna d
...
disease ; Susanna Hayhuurritsito,n.Pennsylva '
bath P. Baugb, Pennsylvanis, phthisis pulmonalis ;
pillemaarLucy M. Ppeetneirsmillvviaa,niNa,odrtuhtiCesaroflina, asphyuxliaa;
licationnoftntehe
p:aaTamerliby
Daily
„Ts i
vac. i
niSiyi
Ees alorpnp,l,le
Mercury,at ,
Pennsylvania,
ss. .p price
che
e op publication
physicß zr m &troy.;
on Monday last. Ever since
gant representations have
circulation. This, n.:aPretbn.Y:
was discontinued
I was started most extrava-
gant
made by the proprietors ebeen
mofandeewwl yitshtarte•tsepde
jcot
utron
aitis,
however, is nothing new in the at-
temptsto force them into
however,
,some time come.; and hence it appears that the
two papers which have for a brief period exist in Bir-
mingham have been merged into one. The Birinivh,ana
r
ournal, in a satirical article upon the event, observeo :
" No one in the slightest degree acquainted with the
economics of newspapers can be ignorant of the fact that
if the two pages of advertisements appearing in our two
contemporaries were bona fide ordered and paid for there
could be no necessity for this fusion, which, disguise it as
they may, is evidence of weakness on both sides. And in-
dependently of other evidences of make-believe in this re-
spect, the partial failure of our succassful friends is very
conclusive proof to those who understand these things,
that much of their ' advertising patronage' is simulated
and unreal— a mere decoy to tempt unwary advertisers,
From all future protestations of ' success' the public is re-
Commended to take
cent off what is understood as the Binning
ham discount-50 per .at least."
we way mention en passant that the publication of the
IVolverhampton News, price 24., was discontinued three
seals since. It is far from improbable
, will attend the career of other cheap newspapers still in
existence in this and other
parts of the .kingdome—
Wohvicitaptint VuTinicle.