The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1908-03-15
tired 90 Bruotsal, IN suSbIa. where he led
an austerO life,
VI.

vi.
Putting into a few final paragraphs the
giSt Of her extensive biography, the author
recalls that on that fatal day Of January 5,
1878, Charles OF Burgundy had only just
passed the middle point Of normal human
life. He was a years / month and 70 days
old; he was, In other words, at an age when
a man has the right to look forward TO
many new achievements. There war In
the contrast between the splendid prospects
Of his youth and the dreary ann Of his
ending all the elements Of a Greek tragedy,
Certain details Of the catastrophe we're Of
course merely accidents, mo n could
have predicted that the Duke, whose chief
title was a synonym for magnifoence, that
this cherished heir TO the House Of Bur-
gundy, who had been bathed all his life in
all the luxury known to his epoch, should
have lain In death for many, many hours,
unattended and uncared for, naked and
frozen on a bed Of mud, with a winter sky
for canopy. Such a stroke Of adversely
was too appalling for any foresight At
the same time the author points out that
the great dream Of the mans life that
vanished with his vitality owed lie annihila-
ton TO no mere chance OF warfare. a II
not been rudely broken by the battle OF
Nancy other means Of destruction, in
evitable and sure, would have been found.
The conception Of a solldiled kingdom
stretching from the North Sea to SwitSer-
land and possibly to the Mediterranean,
a middle kingdom that could hold the bal
ance Of power between France and Ger
many, contained from the outset germs OF
disintegration.
As our author says, II should have been
clear to intelligent onlookers that the ma
terials out Of which the Duke Of Burgundy
expected to mould a royal realm we're h
collection Of units incapable Of Conference.
That the hereditary title Of overload to
each Of these units had been lodged upon
a head already dignifed by a plurality Of
similar titles was only an accident. The
fishermen Of Holland. the manufacturers
I Of Brabant, the merchants OF Flanders,
the winners Of Burgundy cared nothing
for each other. much less for being COM
pacted in IN organic principally. They
we're all separatists, provincial, almost
parochial. in their views and wishes. Their
respective attitudes toward the political
| Capitalization planned by their common
ruler often betrayed ignorance and incon-
sistency. while for a time Charles seemed
TO be on the straight road toward his
goal, the people within each body polite
Of his inherited States we're profoundly
preoccupied with their own local concerns
and only alive to his schemes when they
feared demands upon their internal revenues
| for external purposes That il 10 say,
Notwithstanding the number Of his in
dividual States, Charles Of Burgundy
never had any nation, great or small, at
his back Personally he was a man with
out a country.
Our author is undoubtedly right in say
ing that the previous existence Of a king
dom Of Burgundy was a potent factor in
such degree Of progress as Charles did make
toward conjurinE into new life a reincarna-
ton Of that ancient realm. II was a factor,
however, clothed with the shadow rather
than with the substance OF truth. Geo
RTdpIlCdlly bleIt was NNIy iNtl0 III OOhl-
mon between the kingdom projected more
or less definitely in 1873 and any one Of
the kingdoms OF Burgundy which had eX-
isted in earlier times. That conceived by
Charles the Bold correspondent, as we began
by saying, very nearly TO the realm Pllotted
in Carlovingian days to Lothair and known
rs Lotharingia, On the other hand,
Franche-C omte was the only ground com
mon to the territories actually held by the
Duke and to the letest kingdom Of Bur-
gundy so called. Then again his posses
sions in Pioardy and Alsace lay wholly
beyond the limits Of either Burgundy or
Lorraine. THE old name, however, sur
vived in his ducal title, and 1t was that name
which lent a semblance Of reality TO the
fifteenth century dream Of a middle king
dom as II was outlined in the Dukes mind
moro or less distinctly or bounded more
vaguely by his ambition NJ. W. H,