Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1859-05-17
THE GAZETTE.
TUESDAY MORNING, MAY IL. 1859.


THE FLIGHT OF THE DUKE OF TUSCANY.
The adsices iv the Adelaide announced
that the Tuscan army demanded vi the Duke
to luiu France. and Sardinia, and declare
war against Austria. and that he declined,
hut Immediately took flight. The New York
Post has the following i'll relation to thetug-
tive Duke
Leopold H., Grand Duke of Tuscany is
the second son Of the Grand Duke Ferdinand
ILL.,, and was born at Florence. on the 81 of
October 1871. During bin infancy his fam
lily suffered political reverSes, being driven
ont of their dominions by the French. Re-
firing to Germany, his father caused the
Young Leopold to be educated, first at Salz-
burg and afterwards at Warzburg. In lsl4.
on the fall Vi Napoleon, Florence was res
tered To the Grand Duke. and Leopold re-
turned with the family to his native city
In 1917 he married Saxon princess, and
In 1921, on the death of his father. succeed
ed to the ducal chair. During the troubles
of 1913 he was again expelled, but soon re-
turned to his capital, and on the 22d fJune,
1870, convention was signed by which
ten Thousand Austrian troops should occupy
Tuscany and support the authority Of the
sovereign.
Frequent vicissitudes proved to Leopold
that direct tyranny would endangcr his gov
crnment. but as scion of the house Of llapS-
burg. and the grandson of a German empe-
ror, his feelings naturally inclined towards
imperial rather than republican traditions
Indeed, whatever might have been his in
clinationS the influence of Austria was So
decided that he dared not be too liberal
Yet he certainly has done great deal for
the moral and material Improvement of Tus-
camv, than which no Italian country now
exhibits greater evidence of prosperity
ltis chiefly TO Leopold III. that the Tuscan
people owe their splendid roads, their sub
s,antial stone bridges, their new railways, and
many of their inititutions Of education.
Az patron of the fine arts, the Grand Duke
of Tuscany also deserves mention. BY his
direction the invaluable art treasures Of
inspection including the galleries OF his own
palace. In religion he has exhibited con-
siderable tolerance, as the Protestant COM
munites of Pisa. Leghorn and the capital
city, will confess; although the persecution
in his dominions of the Madai, has pre-
JUDGED against him many Protestant coun-
tries.
In person, the Grand Duke is rather pre-
possessing. He is now sixty-two years of
age hut looks much older. His hair is of
light gray color, and he stoops slightly while
walking. His countenance betrays certain
marks of care and suffering. which are at
tributed by many Of his people to domestic
trials. cherished relative being afflicted
with insanity. In manners he is atable and
pleasant and was accustomed to ride out
daily in the Cascine, sometimes in carriage
with the members of his family, and some
times on horseback, his equipage being only
distinguished by the respect with which the
bystanders gaze upon it, from the more dash
ing turn out of my Lord Noodle. OF England,
the wealthy MIR. Smith of the United States,
or the lesser lights Of the Florentine nobility.
In the more retired parts of the Cascine-
the beautiful, wooded park that lies upon the
banks of the Arno, but short distance from
the city-he was often fond of strolling alone,
and many strangers at Florence have passed
him careessly by without a thought. Those
who recognized him would raise their hats,
to which the Grand Duke would respond by
a similar salute, there being no further form
atty or etiquette in this than what would
mutually pass between the President and
citizen of the United States.
But with all these excellent qualities Leo
pold is not popular in Tuscany. The pre-
sence of Austrian troops constantly irritated
the people, who do not think that the music
they gratuitously afford to the public. on the
open space in front of the Ducal Palace and
the Cascine, sufficient reward for the unwel-
come presence of the "TeIeschi." Indeed,
the presence of these troops can never be for
gotten by the people, for daily parade takes
place in the principal streets. TO a strang-
er it is very interesting to listen to the music
of the band, and see the well trained drills OF
soldiery passing along in their picturesque
costumes some in helmets adorned with wav-
ing plumes, others with iaunty caps and
feathers of the Savoyard mountaineers, while
their we'll FURNISHED bayonets cast lightning
like flashes of light upon the frowning walls
of the palaces of the Strozzi and Medici. To
stranger this is all delightful--but then
strangers do not have pay for all this glitter
and parade.
This, with other causes, has combined to
make Leopold ii unpopular. He knew 1t;
and was prepared for any coming political
event. He had just returned from visit to
the dying King of Naples, when he heard the
rumbling Of the political earthquake, and tlmid
and nervous as he is, Notwithstanding his re-
fined tastes and benevolence, he fled from
Tuscany at the moment whin she is in danger.
In his flight Leopold leaves the most beautl-
full city of continental Europe, and the most
luxurious home that any living monarch has
occupied.