The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-04-05
ABOUT NAPOLEON 1II.
NE W4NTED AUSTRIA AND ITALr
rs 4LLTES IN WIR,

W. " w TNNEtN
witch has Only Recently Come 20 Light.
translated Oom he Copenhagen 7iistucr bv Julius
Morrison.
when last fall wilhelm II. reviewed his i'm.
mensc armies at Stcttin, with Francis Joseph
a. his honorcd guest. the Austrian Emperor
had rich opportunities offered him for his.
torical and political reflections. Francis Jo-
scph, the ally of his host, the German En-.
pcror and of tho King Of ltaly-who by his
presence lent lustro to the celebration rom
memOrativc Of the victories uf the German
armies over the French twenty five years
since, was during those fatcrul days Il mem.
bcr of another triple alliance which had for
its purpose the humiliation Of the throne on
which the Iiohen2ollcrns now sit so secure,
SUPPORTED by more than 5000. 900 bnyoncts.
Tie festivities In remembrance of Metz and
Sedan were likewise Instrumental in fur
nishing historians and students Of political
science with rich material from which to
draw fresh conclusions regarding alliances Of
the future, MS well us to revert the mind on
those Of the past.
II was in 1872 that through q newspaper
feud between the Due de Gramont and the
then Austrian Ambassador ut London, Count
Bcust, the uninitiatcd obtained the first au.
thentic information ancnt the alliance Which
Napoleon III. had secretly prepared in 1860.
Since then Prince Jerome. the French diplo.
mat; Rothan, Count Beust. and tho Italian.
Guicciali, have each added information Of
value to the history of tho never realized
Napoleonic triple alliance. Lastly. the re.
Gently deceased German historian. Helm.
rich Won Sybel, gathered with indus
triOus care tho material at hand. This. with
other Information derived from hitherto un.
published sources, he INCORPORATED in the sew
enth volume of his work. 'The Founding If
the German Empire" Unfortunately. how.
ever. he did not dare to print all he had OBJ
tanned in detail.
The present Italian Ambassador ut Vienna,
Count Nigrn, who in 1870 represented his Gov
eminent at Paris, through some recently pub
lished extracts from his memoirs attempts to
prove that Napoleon III. held no promise from
Italy in 1870, and that consequently Italy did
not break faith with Napoleon. This in dl-
rect contradiction to the Duke of Gralnont's as
sertions. Count Nigra's paper brought an an
swer from Frederic Pichercau, former private
secretary to the Due de Gramont. This reply
was published in lie Figaro, and extracts from
State documents were brought forward rs evil
dence that such an alliance virtually did then
exist. Iichcreau's article finally caused Helm
rich Won Syhcl to utter a sharp retort in Die
/tkUuft. 1t was the German historians last
article but one. and his attempt TO dislod.e
wv ~ "a AiO . ! I Nv imam WV lAltlf
But the most important Documents. tie cor
dependence between Napoleon Francis Joseph.
and Victor Emmanuel at the close of their ne
gotiations touching an alliance against prus-
STA, are as yet kept secret. And there is disap-
p~ointmcnt in store for those who in Won Syhel's
main work look for a lucid and objective expo
sition of that triple alliance. notwithstanding
his exhaustive treatment of tie period and its
characters. The German historian has in tho
present instance been unable to apply that
usually such an adert. lie lacks here political
vision. His point of view is ultra-Germanic;
his explanation confusing, Frequently resern-
critical treatise with n historical subject.
The decadence period Of the French empire
began. the instant Bismarck assumed charge Of
Prussian politics. 1t did not escape Napoleon
ILLS attention that the Italian campaiEn Of
izatiOn OF the French army. But he no longer
felt himself competent to reconstruct and fol-
when the new President of the Gabimct. X,
marck,SGhoenhausen, had placed Parliament
lSyond The pale; Napoleon underestiTated lis
standing his coup de STATE, the GErimcan way,
ard the Italian, campsign. lie was never the man
was still so great that, acting with promptness.
the yictors might have been stopped in time and
tate peace. In vain did his friend. Prince Met
ternich, imp.,ore him 70 send the troops to tie
message from Hndowa, He could give uttcEancc
to hut one sentence; I'm not prepared for war"
The trouble with Napoleon HI. was simply
that he did not know how to turn the prestige
Of his, country to account or how to develop
his splendid forces. He continually lamentrd
the fact that, Prussia was growing in power.
Instead of girlinc M his loins AMI making ready |
for war viii; such material " stood at his dis
destruction rather. in II political coalescencs
Tlh two nations. that. even more so than
was perfcctinl It's already immerse armament'
But n,eithcr did Napoleon III. succeed uiplo-
matically. lie failed utterly To establish n
a nrRh q n 4 lu Il ~ ftf Arm r.f inv ~ lt. M |
avoihable contest with Bismarck. Tie Lux-
cmbourT affair had plainly shown that the man
engage in the decisive battle for the hcpcmonv
of Prussia in Europe. This. coupled with the
Emperor Francis Joseph and King Victor En-
rected against Prussia. His proposition found
wiling ears both at III" Hotburg and the Pa
In the light of History Napoleon III. becomes
a curious phenoucuon. RUt his morosc ideal
ism proved to France the greatest MISFORTUNE
was surrounded by nothing but inconsoaucn-
ttal neishhorS; Al the downfall OF Napoleon
tIde; To The last Of his reign Napoleon noun
ished, the illusion that at MAGENTA and SOLE.
rino he had procured for France n mighty and
Napoleon felt confident of Victor Emmanucls
cooperation touching his offensive and defensive
alliance, and oycrturcs were therefore first
made TO Austria. The Austrian Ambassador at
Paris, Prince Mcttrrnirh, and his colleague At
Iuileries' the, plans for q, triple alliance were
hid before them, and they were requested 70
Rouhcr. The latter prepared a paper, nc-
cording TO which the three powers entered into
10 Frussian conqncstS and restore 10 Austria
It's former position in Germany. Hut Count
icnst,, d%ipiomatt"r hand hccnrnc dtscernibIc at
Nittthum. who was he Austrian Cham
right hand. made known that the proro-
> t'on as drawn NJ was wholly unacceptable OF
his master 'leCal>e oi Austrin'S informal re-