Concluding Observations on Austria and her Prospects.
The heterogeneousness of the inhabitants of London and Paris is from
the influx of foreigners; but the odd mixture of German, Italian,
Slaavic, and I know not how many other races in Vienna, is almost all
generated within the limits of the monarchy. Masses, rubbing against
each other, get their asperities smoothed in the contact; but the
characteristics of various nationalities remain in Vienna in
considerable strength, and do not seem likely soon to disappear by any
process of attrition. There goes the German--honest, good-natured, and
laborious; the Hungarian--proud, insolent, lazy, hospitable, generous,
and sincere; and the plausible Slaav--his eye, twinkling with the
prospect of seizing, by a knowledge of human nature, what others
attain by slower means.
How curious again, is the meeting of nations that labour and enjoy! In
Paris, the Germans and the English are more numerous than any other
foreigners. The former toil, drudge, save their littles to make a
meikle. The latter, whatever they may be at home, are, in Paris,
generally loungers and consumers of the fruits of the earth. The
Hungarian's errand in Vienna is to spend money: the Italian's to make
it. The Hungarian, A.B., is one of the squirearchy of his country,
whose name is legion, or a military man, whiling away his furlough
amid the excitements of a gay capital. The Italian, C.D., is a
painter, a sculptor, a musician, or an employe; and there is scarcely
to be found an idle man among the twenty thousand of his
fellow-countrymen, who inhabit the metropolis.
The Hungarian nobility, of the higher class, are, in appearance and
habits, completely identified with their German brethren; but it is in
the middle nobility that we recognize the swarthy complexion, the
haughty air and features, more or less of a Mongolian cast. The
Hungarians and native Germans are mutually proud of each other, and
mutually dislike each other. I never knew a Hungarian who was not in
his heart pleased with the idea, that the King of Hungary was also an
emperor, whose lands, broad and wide, occupied so large a space in the
map of Europe; and I never knew an Austrian proper, who was not proud
of Hungary and the Hungarians, in spite of all their defects. The
Hungarian of the above description herds with his fellow-countrymen,
and preserves, to the end of his stay, his character of foreigner;
visits assiduously places of public resort, preferring the theatre and
ball-room to the museum or picture-gallery.
Of all men living in Vienna, the Bohemians carry off the palm for
acuteness and ingenuity. The relation of Bohemia to the Austrian
empire has some resemblance to that of Scotland to the colonies of
Britain, in the supply of mariners to the vessel of state. The
population of Bohemia is a ninth part of that of the whole empire; but
I dare say that a fourth of the bureaucracy of Austria is Bohemian.
To account for this, we must take into consideration the great number
of men of sharp intellect, good education, and scanty fortune, that
annually leave that country.
The population of Scotland is about a ninth of that of the United
Kingdom. The Scot is well educated. He has less loose cash than his
brother John Bull, and consequently prefers the sweets of office to
the costly incense of the hustings and the senate. How few,
comparatively speaking, of those who have made themselves illustrious
in the imperial Parliament, from the Union to our own time, came from
the north of the Tweed; but how the Malcolms, the Elphinstones, the
Munros, and the Burns, crowd the records of Indian statesmanship!
The power that controls the political tendencies of Austria is that of
the _mass_ of the bureaucracy; consequently, looking at the proportion
of Bohemian to other employes in the departments of public service,
the influence exercised by this singularly sagacious people, over the
destinies of the monarchy, may be duly appreciated. Count Kollowrath,
the minister of the interior, and Baron Kubeck, the minister of
finance, are both Bohemians, and thus, next to the Chancellor of
State, occupy the most important offices in the empire.
The Bohemians of the middling and poorer classes, have certainly less
sincerity and straight-forwardness than their neighbours. An anecdote
is related illustrative of the slyness of the Bohemians, compared with
the simple honesty of the German, and the candid unscrupulousness of
the Hungarian: "During the late war, three soldiers, of each of these
three nations, met in the parlour of a French inn, over the
chimney-piece of which hung a watch. When they had gone, the German
said, 'That is a good watch; I wish I had bought it.' 'I am sorry I
did not take it,' said the Hungarian. 'I have it in my pocket,' said
the Bohemian."
The rising man in the empire is the Bohemian Baron Kubeck, who is
thoroughly acquainted with every detail in the economical condition of
Austria. The great object of this able financier is to cut down the
expenses of the empire. No doubt that it would be unwise for Austria,
an inland state, to reduce her military expenses; but the
_viel-schreiberei_ might be diminished, and the pruning-hook might
safety be applied to the bureaucracy; but a powerful under-current
places this region beyond the power of Baron Kubeck. He is also a
free-trader; but here again he meets with a powerful opposition: no
sooner does he propose a modification of the tariff, than the saloons
of the Archdukes are filled with manufacturers and monopolists, who
draw such a terrific picture of the ruin which they pretend is to
overwhelm them, that the government, true to its tradition of never
doing any thing unpopular, of always avoiding collision with public
opinion, and of protecting vested interests, even to the detriment of
the real interest of the public, draws back; and the old jog-trot is
maintained.
The mass of the aristocracy continues as usual without the slightest
political influence, or the slightest taste for state affairs. The
Count or Prince of thirty or forty thousand a year, is as contented
with his chamberlain's key embroidered on his coat-skirt, as if he
controlled the avenues to real power; but the silent operation of an
important change is visible in all the departments of the internal
government of Austria. The national reforms of the Emperor Joseph were
too abrupt and sweeping to be salutary. By good luck the reaction
which they produced being co-incident with the first French
Revolution, the firebrands which that great explosion scattered over
all monarchical Europe, fell innocuous in Austria. The second French
revolution rather retarded than accelerated useful reforms. Now that
the fear of democracy recedes, an inclination for salutary changes
shows itself everywhere. A desire for incorporations becomes
stronger, and the government shows none of its quondam anxiety about
public companies and institutions. The censorship has been greatly
relaxed, and many liberal newspapers and periodicals, formerly
excluded, are now frequently admitted. Any one who knew Austria some
years ago, would be surprised to see the "Examiner," and
"Constitutionnel" lying on the tables of the Clubs.
A desire for the revival of the provincial estates (Landstande), is
entertained by many influential persons. These provincial parliaments
existed up to the time of the Emperor Joseph, who, with his rage for
novelty, and his desire for despotic and centralized power, abolished
them. The section of the aristocracy desirous for this revival is
certainly small, but intelligent, and impatient for a sphere of
activity. They have neither radical nor democratic principles; they
admit that Austria, from the heterogeneous nature of her population,
is not adapted for constitutional government; but maintain that the
revival of municipal institutions is quite compatible with the present
elements of the monarchy, and that the difficulties presented by the
antagonist nationalities are best solved by allowing a development of
provincial public life, restricted to the control of local affairs,
and leaving the central government quite unfettered in its general
foreign and domestic policy.
St. Marc Girardin remarks, with no less piquancy of language than
accuracy of observation, that "no country is judged with less favour
than Austria; and none troubles herself less about misrepresentation.
Austria carries her repugnance to publicity so far as even to dislike
eulogium. Praise often offends her as much as blame; for he that
applauds to-day may condemn to-morrow; to set one's self up for
praise, is to set one's self up for discussion. Austria will have none
of it, for her political worship is the religion of silence, and her
worship of _that_ goes almost to excess. Her schools are worthy of the
highest admiration; we hear nothing about them. She is, after England,
the first country in Europe for railways; and we hear nothing of them,
except by a stray paragraph in the Augsburg Gazette."
The national railroad scheme of Austria is certainly the most splendid
effort of the _tout pour le peuple--rien par le peuple_ system that
has been hitherto seen; the scheme is the first of its class: but its
class is not the first, not the best in the abstract, but the best in
an absolute country, where the spirit of association is scarcely in
embryo. From Vienna to Cracow is now but a step. Prague and Dresden
will shake hands with Vienna next year. If we look southwards, line
upon line interpose themselves between Vienna and the Adriatic, but
the great Sommering has been pierced. The line to Trieste is open
beyond Gratz, the Styrian capital. The Lombard-Venetian line proceeds
rapidly, and is to be joined to that of Trieste. In 1847, the
traveller may go, without fail, from Milan to Stettin on the Baltic.
But the most interesting line for us is that of Gallicia, in connexion
with that of Silesia. If prolonged from Czernowitz to Galatz, along
the dead flat of Moldavia, the Black Sea and the German Ocean will be
joined; _Samsoun and the Tigris will thus be, in all probability, at
no distant day, on the high road to our Indian empire_.
But to return to Austria; this spectacle of rapid material
improvement, without popular commotion, and without the trumpets and
alarm-bells of praise and blame, is satisfactory: but when we look to
the reverse of the picture, and see the cumbrous debt, the frequent
deficits, and the endless borrowing, we think the time has come for
great financial reforms,--as Schiller hath it:--
"Warum denn nicht mit einem grossen Schritte anfangen, Da sie mit
einem grossen Schritte doch enden mussen?"
THE END.
MR. PATON'S WORK ON SYRIA, Post 8vo, price 10_s_. 6_d_.
THE MODERN SYRIANS;
OR,
NATIVE SOCIETY IN DAMASCUS, ALEPPO, AND THE MOUNTAINS OF THE DRUSES.
"Lebanon and its inhabitants, particularly the Druses, Damascus, and
Aleppo, are his leading subjects. His statements, under the first of
those heads, form by far the most valuable portion of the work,
affording, as it does, information not elsewhere to be found
respecting the social condition, the politics, and the state of
religion in a highly interesting region, our knowledge of which has
hitherto been of the slightest description. Next to this, in interest,
is the account of Aleppo, which has been less visited by English
travellers than Damascus; but even at Damascus, the information of
this writer has considerable novelty, and embraces many points of
interest arising from his leisurely sojourn, from his mixing more than
other travellers with the native population, and from his ability to
converse with them in their own language. Hence we have pictures more
distinct in their outlines, facts more positive, and information more
real than the passing traveller, ignorant of the local language, can
be reasonably expected to exhibit ... makes larger additions to the
common stock of information concerning Syria, than any work which
could easily be named since 'Burckhardt's Travels in Syria'
appeared."--_Eclectic Review_.
"Remarkably clever and entertaining."--_Times_.
"In many of the conversations and reports in this volume, there seems
to us a _reality_, which European writing and discourse often
want."--_Spectator_.
"I willingly testify to the fact of your having enjoyed facilities
over all our modern travellers, for accurately describing the manners,
customs, and statistics of Syria."--_Letter of Mr. Consul-General
Barker_.
For a detailed analysis, see _Athenaeum_, 24th Aug. 1844.
LONDON: LONGMAN & CO., PATERNOSTER-ROW.