New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-03-22


Gated the restoration of the Bourbons. Full de-
tails of Vitrolcs's mission are given mere, an"
Taeyrand avows his connection with 1t. Hence
forth he was to be the champion of Legitimacy
and in that sign he was TO conquer at the Oon-
cress of Vienna. In the first place, however Wy
the Convention OF May 80, 1914. he secured peoter
terms than could have been hoped for for frahce'
and this was signal service. Louis the Eisu'
tecnth returning to France that knew nm hoO'
assembled the throne pcaccably. The people "eic
sick TO death OF and losses. Ihey """'"
quiet, economical government. ana hot'ihS ny
and Louis promised them so much. lie proinPiS
recognized the value of Talcyrands SERVICES anu
made him Foreign Minister again. B"t accofui'iS
to tie Treaty of Nay 50, all the Powers concei'cu
were - meet nj Vienna within three months ana
negotiate treaty whereby all the aH"i'' "
Europe should he settled, and although Nv wa"
by no means sure that the presence OF ,"".e
Mt this Congress was expected or desired. he
had resolved not only to be there, Dut u '"Ne
very active part in all that went on. :.
Half the second volume OF the Nleho''
occupied with the history of the CONGRESS .,
Wanna and II is indeed no wonder that Talleyrana
should have recounted this episode Ill de'"ii
for IT, assurcdlv was the most honorable anu
glorious event in his career. To Judge cIe"iis
what he ACCOMPLISHED at Vienna, 1t Is necessary
| TO realize the circumstances un Ter when hc "c0
| there. If was a. the representative OF country
which was crushed, PROSTATE, powerie's ~ :"
| country, moreover which had made ltseli 'noi
oughly odous to all Europe; which HI" w.
RACED insulted abused, robbed. humllia'eu' Nearly
| every Power represented in the Congress- VIM"
had confscated and annexed their "',iv
plundcred their national treasures Destroyer Wv.
governments, and spread ruin and devastation i"-
| and wide in their dominions. was uleIe ei'nc'
homo or possbiity that the representative OF uliS
| puilty abhorrcd and now impotent country "ouiu
| be accorded a hearing in such Dody as 'c YIN
| Crcss of Vienna, even if he were adml'ieu W i''
| sessions at all? Certainly the prospect was us
| couragng in the extreme but IalIeyrahd III" co"-
| fdencc in himself. Arrived at Vienna he soon
| found that the four great Powers intended 10 holu
together and so to control the Congress, ana that
,to,, had already settled upon the general course
20 he pursued 1t was agreed that SaXony. whlcn
WIS regarded as a traitor, having remained loyal
! IN Napocon should be handed over bodily 10
! Prussia: that Russia should take the Duchy ol
! Vassovia: that all the petty German STATES th,'C
| had been dislncmbercd by Napoleon should DC uls-
! rributrd among the conqucrorS OF the Holy Ai'i
! aucc; and that France, above all, should De Ill
lowed no part in the Encouragement of the Con-
| tincnt
Now 10 encounter this already fixed dctermlna-
| ton Talleyrand had. as he says, nothing Dut
| principle. reliance upon which may well nave
| seemed rs rash and fatuous as the shepherd lad
| Day.ds dependence upon his Sing III 'he coihp"o
with the Philistinc giant The principle was
legitimacy. II was not particularly easy one
| FOR the men of the Constituent Assembly, OF the
Directory. of the Empire to defend; but 10 one
understood better how to deiach personality from
| policy than the former Bishop OF Autun, ana
| he soon found means Of entanglng the feet OF his
colleagues i'm the net OF his subtle and iar-reach
| ing argument 80 closely that they found then-
selves brought TO a standstilI. What indeed couiu
| they say when it made clear to them that 'hey
were proposing to follow that very Aapole'nlc syS
| tenn. resistance 10 which was the sole reason ior
existence of the alliance All these iedisti
of tcrritory-what were they but fresh and naSIaht
| assaults Of the principle OF legitimacy upon winch
| every throne IN Europe rested. Us the legitimacy
| Of Louis ANIIl could not he called IN cues
! tlon the force Of this argument was lhcAPu4H-
| able and used with IaleyrandS skill ana aurolt
ness it compelled a halt. AT first the Powers OF
| course not easily dissuadcd from their rapaciouS
PURPOSES tried To overcome Talcynnd by tactical
| devices. They sought TO effect combinations when
| would isolate and make HIM power!eS' IN tIr con,
| ferences But he saw through and easily defeated
all such subterfugcS, and having embarrassed anu
delayed the plans of the others. he addressed NM
self to a more difficult task, namely. that 81 SOW.
ing discussion among them. To control he must
|
The larcc space devoted to the Congress Of Vienna
| i'm the Memoirs is mainly occupied by the core
! spondrncc between Iallcymnd and ms aSsocia"u
| colleagues and Louis ANlII. This correspondence
! indeed had been published already by VI. Pullrut,
bat the variations between his edition taken from
the archives and that preserved by TallcVrand. are
50 many and notable as fully u Justify the repuo-
| Hcation even though il was not obvious that WIN
out the full explanation Afforded by these ict,eiS
the history of tie could not he completed.
! Their inherent value and Interest are, II may r.
added SO great that no serious reader can ever NJ
| gret the time bestowed upon them; ior 1hey
illustrate perhaue as nothing else could, tho genius
| and the real greatness of Talleyrand. and
they demonstrate the extent and character or
! his diplomatic powers marYcllouSN. How ne
pursued his ends despite every kind OF dlscour-
| agcment: how he fought the Emperor of Russia
who was the most ohstinatcly resolved upon tie
Saxon question, for months, and by every means
within his reach: how gradually he succeeded IN
dcta cling Austria from the schemes OF tie Al
! lance, and how in the end lie had the glory ana
| satisfaction Of making it plain that notwith-
| standing her Frustrated condition. France was stlli
| the arbter of Europe and the champion OF moral
| principles i'm governmcnt-al this must he read rs
| 1allcyrand has recorded the facts in order that
his splendid triumph may be fully appreciated.
| With this episode IL second volume closes. In
| those 10 follow there will doubtless he many
| deeply interesting passages and whole papers.
| Onr-that upon the death of the Due d'Enshicn--
will be- eagerly awaited. and the account of Tai
| evranl's English mission VIII likewise provoke
lively anticipation. But il Is unlikely that even
| his skill and defines can make of any other
| pprlO1 his life record so Thoroughly anu IN
| irscrvrdlv honorable 10 himself and beneficial 10
| his country and Europe rs was his course at the
| Congress Of Vienna II is of course too soon Ia
express defnitivc Judgment upon these Memoirs
| wien but two out Of five volumes have appeared.
But il is not too soon to say that the importance OF
| their contents much more than compcnsates for
| the absence of that lighter material whose sup
| poscd presence in them whcttcd tie curiosity Of
| the world The Memoirs is a serious work and II
| will probably leave much better impression OF
its author than can hc ga!hrrcd from the criticism
or the gossip Of his contemporaries.
THE MAGNUM OPUS THEORY.