The German language appears to me to be better
adapted to music than either the French or English.
The number of dactylic
terminations in the language give to it all the variety that the
sdruccioli give to the Italian. As to poetry, no language in the world
suits itself better to all the vagaries and phantasies of the Muse, since
it possesses so much natural rythm and allows, like the Greek, the
combination of compound words and a redundancy of epithets, and it is
besides so flexible that it lends itself to all the ancient as well as the
modern metres with complete success: indeed it is the only modern language
that I know of which does so.
As for political opinions here, the Germans seem neither to wish nor to
care about the restoration of the Bourbons; but they talk loudly of the
necessity of tearing Alsace and Lorraine from France. In fact, they wish to
put it out of the power of the French ever to invade Germany again; a thing
however little to be hoped for. For the minor and weaker Germanic states
have always hitherto (and will probably again at some future day) invoked
the assistance of France against the greater and stronger. I observe that
the Austrian Government is not at all popular here, and that its bad faith
in financial matters is so notorious and has been so severely felt here,
that a merchant told me, alluding to the bankruptcy of the Austrian
Government on two occasions when there was no absolute necessity for the
measure, that Frankfort had suffered more from the bad faith of the
Austrian Government than from all the war contributions levied by the
French.
BRUXELLES, 28th July.
On arrival at Coblentz we heard that Napoleon had surrendered himself
unconditionally to Capt. Maitland of the Bellerophon. He never should
have humiliated himself so far as to surrender himself to the British
ministry. He owed to himself, to his brave fellow soldiers, to the French
nation whose Sovereign he had been, not to take such a step, but rather die
in the field like our Richard III, a glorious death which cast a lustre
around his memory in spite of the darker shades of his character; or if he
could not fall in the field, he should have died like Hannibal, rather than
commit himself into the hands of a government in which generosity is by no
means a distinguishing feature, and which on many occasions has shown a
petty persecuting and vindictive spirit, and thus I have no hesitation in
portraying the characteristics of our Tory party, which, unfortunately for
the cause of liberty, rules with undivided sway over England. He will now
end his days in captivity, for his destination appears to be already fixed,
and St Helena is named as the intended residence; he will, I say, be
exposed to all the taunts and persecutions that petty malice can suggest;
and this with the most uncomfortable reflections:
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 44 of 291
Words from 22405 to 22910
of 151859
