The Statesman.
London, England, 1821-07-12 00:00:00

PRI= SgygN

PIEDMONT.
(mom ITALY, IT LADY DIODOAD4
Ages of tyranny were not calculated to instil into
the Piedmontese very just notions of political liberty ;
but their quick natural intelligence soon lent itself to
the principles and theories of their comparative rege-
neration. All the youth and many of the ablest law-
yers and men of science embraced the new order of
things with enthusiasm; and, gradually learning Su
consider it as a probationary step to a more perfect
system, they were fast advancing in the career of con-
stitutional liberty, when the sudden elevation of Bo-
naparte to the Imperial throne, though it did net
stifle their love of freedom, damped their hopes, anti
delayed the attainment of their object. They had
no numerical force to oppose to systems, backed by
the armies which had conquered Europe, and acceded
to by the sovereigns of Russia, Prussia, Austria, and
of Rome. The consecrated of Pope Pius VII., the
son-in-law of Francis 1., the model of Alexander, and
the master of the fate of Frederick would have
been vainly resisted by the little republic of Piedmont.
Itanaparte, as Emperor, took the same pains to ton-
ciliate, as he had done when a republican general.—
The most eminent Piedmontese continued in office.—
Their governor, the Prince Borghese, was a nati%i;
Italian prince, whose fortune would have pnrchaeett
the fee simple of a dozen German stadholarre. He
was young, and handsome, and brother-in-law to the
Emperor. This prince was ordered to preserve in his
court all the free forms established in the saloons of
the republic. All educated persons were admitted to
the vice-regal court, without distinction; and no re-
straint was imposed. upon the guests, but that which
obliged husbands to accompany their wires. The
sales of national property were confirmed, nut a con-
vent was restored, and the stiletto was still probitalted,
as in the time of the Republic.
In Is I 5 France fell, and Europe returned to its anci-
ent stsssielle. Kings crept from their hiding-places, and
toe isistitites of the fifteenth century gradually re!
_:tined their power and influence. His Majesty of
Jerusalem and Cyprus, after a retreat of fifteen years
in his Island or Sardinia, returned from his govern-
ment of the anchovies, accompanied by an odd 1.-h,
(his gr.oil vizier, Count Cerutti,) his priest, his !ill-
donna, his court, and a little army of tin soldiers,
which he had daily exercised in the Queen's dressing-
sooni. Ile entered from his good city of Turin, ha-
hited in the same costume, with tbe same peruke, and
the same prejudices, in which he hal left it. Still
the people saw in him, notwithstanding his legitimate
wig and appalling coat, the pledge of that liberty
which the Holy Allies had promised Europe, when the
Imperial Ogre should he put down. All the relics of
ancient fendality, who had lain perigee io the old
eolith,* of the Alps, in the defiles of the Pas de Suv,
sir the valleys of Savoy, now hobbled forth, habited
in dresses not snow since the revolution, and with prin-
ciples as antiquated as themselves. The King, on be-
holding himself once more in the gallery of his pu-
bs:. zo reek, surrounded hr the same figures, faces, and
dresses, as when, in less happy times, he had last
seems it, tumid not refrain from expressing his jot. that
,s,,t •in g. teas elteaged, that he had found every 01:94
44 he left it. It was in vain that the old professor,.
of ;Liman law, in their silken rlxtrisrev, the old ma-
zistrates in their ermined robes, the old nobles in bags
.snit swords, and the old ecclesiastics once more in gran I
pontificals, stunned him with their cries uf " Prostrate
arisalitd;—ji ocktit4,—i froopo girl fuliv,—i quiitliri
snit resstreeti :" it was long before lee eould be made ti
comorehend what they meant ; or believe that a single in-
n ovation had been made in the laws of the descendant
of Wittikind the Great. At length, however, con-
vinced by reiterated details that there was no feudality,
stn corvee, no gabelle, no convents, no stilettos, and
no asylums ; that nobles were obliged to pay their
debts, and were not obliged to ask permission to go
to Milan ; and that nothing remained of the ancieti:
nstituti (((( s, but an heavy taxation, a military con-
scription, and a trammeled press—he invoked every
Saint in the Calendar to witness his astonishment anti
indignation ; and called upon " his bosom's counsellor,
Iris better self," Cerutti, to know what was to be done,
how the fragments of the ancient structure were to be
collected, how put together, and by whom. Ceru:..i
laughed at the royal consternation ; and told the King
that for about sixpence of Piedmontese money, he wonld
build up the ancient government di Gel marotro. The
sixpence advanced, the Minister hobbled off, and
in less than an hour returned with a court calendar. oc
rest-book for the year 1790. " There, Sire," said he,
"is your government ready made. Replace all the
persons you find here, who are still living, and fill no
the vacancies; and thrn for the price of this book,
found on a stall near yuur Majesty'. palace, yisa
have your governmentre•es:ablished without trouble."
'floe King was enchanted ; the active ministry of th
previous regitne were immediately banished; and in
a few slays tittle remained of the former system, lint
the abases which it suited the new order of things to
retain. The co..vents were restored ; the streets fillel
with Monks. processions, and soldiers ; churches and
forts, shrines and garrisons, rose in every quarter ;
the Code Napoleon was Lit aside ; the line of distinc-
tion between the nobi:ity and the people was more
strongly drawn than (seer ; the (}-seen again let the
opera-boxes are wiling to the due number of quarter-
lugs; and the King declared in the midst of a f!til
court, upon being toll that the King of Bavaria wog
&liberal, and that the King of Presets had prornisei
his people a constitution, "foto/0/ton* verstmente
To crown his felicity, England, false to her promises,
betrayed Genoa into his hands—Genoa, the object of
Isis hatred, his rivalry, and his ambition; when, lo
in the midst of his triumphs,it was discovered that th
old machine, in spite of its new varnisb, paint, and
gilding, could not be movie to move. The springs ha.l
grown rusty, the wheels were clogged, its principle o:
usolion fo gotten; and in one weed, the aispenn;
eons itution was not worth a groat. All was asira:s.,
all confusion, disconteat and incongruity ; the peo;.
belonged to one .ss., 7.se g iverittut:tit to another.