even believe that the talents of their extraordinary emperor are more
sincerely acknowledged in Vienna than in Paris. But it is the
intolerable insolence of the national character, that makes its bravery,
its gaiety, and even its genius detested. Trust me; this feeling will
not be unfruitful. Out of the hut of the peasant will come the avengers,
whom the cabinet has never been able to find in the camp. Out of the
swamp and the thicket will rise the tree that will at once overshadow
the fallen fortunes of Germany, and bring down the lightning on her
aggressors. In this hope alone I live."

I once more asked him, "From what quarter is the restoration to come?"

"I know not--I care not--I ask not," said he, starting from his chair,
and traversing the room with huge strides. "The topic feels to me as if
a sword was now griding its way through my frame. But France will never
keep Austria, nor Prussia, nor the Rhenish Provinces, nor Holland, nor
any spot on earth beyond the land inhabited by Frenchmen. It is true,"
said he, with a stern smile, "that she may keep her West India islands,
if your ships will let her. The negroes are her natural subjects. They
have backs accustomed to the lash, and black cheeks that will not redden
at her insolence."

"Are the German sovereigns of your opinion?"

"To a man. It is but this morning that I was honoured with a reception
by our good emperor. His conviction was complete. But you will not see
Austria stir a single step, until war is the outcry, not of her court,
but of her people. The trumpet that leads the march will be blown not
from the parade of Vienna or Berlin, but from the village, the pasture,
the forest, and the mountain. The army will be the peasant, the weaver,