POETRY.-Visions, 2. May-Day, 2. Gertrude; or, Love till Death, 48. Dreams, 48. SHORT ARTICLES.-European Recognition of the Rebels, 32. Chambers on Cheap Literature, 47. Markham's Travels, 47. Dr. Cumming's Popularity, 47. PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY BY LITTELL, SON, & CO., BOSTON. For Six Dollars a year, in advance, remitted directly to the Publishers, the LIVING AGE will be punctually forwarded free of postage. Complete sets of the First Series, in thirty-six volumes, and of the Second Series, in twenty volumes, handsomely bound, packed in neat boxes, and delivered in all the principal cities, free of expense of freight, are for sale at two dollars a volume. ANY VOLUME may be had separately, at two dollars, bound, or a dollar and a half in numbers. ANY NUMBER may be had for 13 cents; and it is well worth while for subscribers or purchasers to complete any broken volumes they may have, and thus greatly enhance their value. Visions of greatness, knowledge, and power! Oh! let my spirit cling in its longing Still to those visions that flattered and fled; Let me repeople my heart with the thronging Of phantoms that cheated, of hopes that are dead. Visions! all visions! How sad to remember cember With snow-flake and cloud coming gloomily on ! Fair princess! woodland queen! Like bride on bridal morn, Echo of strings long untouched by the finger,- From The National Review. Tagebücher von Friederich von Gentz. Leip- he himself dared to face only in the supposed secrecy of absolute self-communion, and in the candid unguardedness of a self-knowledge, the sense whereof, however much he A MORE surprising contribution to history might wish, it yet was not in his power to supcan hardly be conceived than this remarkable press. There cannot be two opinions as to Diary, quite apart from the interest that must the indelicacy that allowed so premature a attach to so astounding a bit of autobiograph- publication of this astounding production, in ical confession. What wonderful peeps and which private matters, too often of a paininsights into hidden thoughts and hidden fully offensive nature, are recounted, bearmotives, what thoroughly startling glimpses ing reference to persons still alive, whose round the back of things and men into their names are given in full. That many traits innermost hearts, flash upon us from the thus furnished are valuable characteristics ungarbled pages of any truly private jour- we readily admit; indeed, there is hardly a nal, the written record of such ingenuous page of this marvellous book which does not effusions as a mind will not venture upon contain matter of the most undeniable interexcept in moments of fancied self-commun- est. But that does not lessen the wicked ion, far from all inquisitive intrusion! love of giving pain that must have possessed Hence the unpremeditated pages of such note-books have long been amongst the most popular reading, as they have rightly been held amongst the most precious materials for historical delineation. The most ingenious and elaborate narrative fails to convey to us so living a picture of the times, and the doings and feelings of the men of those times, as is contained in the simple jottings down of Evelyn and Pepys in their journals. There we look upon the twitches and little weaknesses and unconscious tricks that are so many clues to inward nature, and after the lapse of centuries find ourselves standing face to face with the hidden causes and mighty influences that have worked many a strange and puzzling event. It is the freshness of hue clinging to this kind of revelation which makes its charm so great, even when not so essentially marked with the peculiar and delightful tone of Evelyn's and Pepys' kindly prattle. When we are lucky enough to alight upon such a bit of embalmed reality, we dwell thereon with the instinctive fondness which a thing felt to be true and actual at once awakens. the individual who could deliberately resolve to circulate such records, when it would have been so easy to suppress these objectionable passages of private scandal, and yet to give to the world a book abounding in matter of the highest historical importance. We are not astonished, therefore, to find that we owe this piece of wilful mischief to the same hand that has already become notorious by having bestowed on the world the correspondence of Humboldt with Varnhagen von Ense. It appears that Varnhagen, who was bound to Gentz by a friendship of many years' standing, upon his death obtained possession of these papers, and that they have passed, with other stores of valuable documents, into the hands of his executrix and niece, Mademoiselle Louisa Assing. It is to this lady's uncompromising zeal for publication, or avidity of notoriety, that we have to render thanks for the communications of her uncle's collections of literary treasures; the value of which we freely acknowledge, although we are unable to combine with our appreciation a high estimate of Madlle. Assing's womanly sensitiveness. No diary can in a higher degree awaken For we cannot admit the preface by Varnhathe sense of thorough genuineness than the gen,-however directly it may prove his inone to which we now wish to draw atten- tentions that this Diary should be some day tion. Indeed, the feeling can hardly fail to published, to be any justification for its acquire a painful intensity; for here we have being done now. There is not the least evimercilessly dragged into public sight the dence therein that Varnhagen had maliinnermost life and breathings of a man dis- ciously designed to do his friend the irrepartinguished by high talent and position, an able injury of giving his most secret thoughts active politician, statesman, and writer; and and confessions to the world, when their revwe see it exhibited in that nakedness of elation, besides injuring his own memory, emotion, passion, and sensuousness, which would trouble the last years of a venerable -- veteran still lingering upon the field of their about persons with whom he had intimate common exploits. connections, show that his cynical disregard The Diary in question was written by for delicacy and his strong sensual propenFrederick Gentz, a man endowed with rare sities were not unallied, at least originally, talents, both for statesmanship and letters, with nobler feelings, and that the seeming and who, by the sole force of his genius, voluptuary and busy man of the world could raised himself—which was then a most dif- be sensible, at all events in his earlier caficult feat in Germany, and especially in reer, of emotions worthy of his splendid Austria-from the ranks of that humble and intellect. But it is truly painful to watch respectable middle class in which he was the systematic and deliberate corruption born, to be the familiar companion, mixing with which, as he gets engulfed in the sea of with them on terms of strict equality, of the political success, Gentz strips off all generhighest born and most illustrious and pow- ous feeling, until at last there remains notherful ministers in Europe; attending the ing but the bestial though vigorous strength councils of the Congress of Vienna as a of a malignant faun. Thus from these pages chief actor, regarded by Metternich as a there rises up the living image of a man most valued assistant, and treated by the truly singular, embodying in marvellous sovereigns and princes, statesmen and gen- proportions the highest and the coarsest erals of that stirring period with a deference qualities of human nature, and exhibiting a which is a signal tribute to the influence of combination of loftiness with dross, of walhis gifted intellect. For, beyond the fasci- lowing sensuality with piercing intellect, nation of these superior talents, Gentz had that constitutes a spectacle of a most sureverything against him. His origin was of prising and perplexing kind. The journal, that humble kind which the exclusive tem- which extends from 1800-1819, is of very per of Austrian society has ever regarded varied fulness; in parts containing mere with religious horror. For such a man to notes to guide the memory, while in others, work his way into admission-on any foot- especially during the year 1809, comprising ing but that of a dependant-to daily and day by day the eventful occurrences of that intimate intercourse with the aristocracy stirring year, it must add to our astonishand court of Vienna, was an unparalleled ment at the substance of these confessions achievement. Moreover, Gentz was a man to find that in their present startling shape beset with wild and boiling passions, unable they are the revised edition by Gentz himto keep himself under check, forever hurried self of his Diary. With all the tremendous along by his hot love of pleasure into ex- press of business and pleasure which seemed cesses as scandalous as they were public ;- to absorb every minute of his time, Gentz a Sybarite in his tastes, without the fortune appears never to have failed to note down to gratify them, yet quite incapable of put- the occurrences of each day-in itself not ting any restraint on his wishes, and there- the least singular contradiction in a life so fore a continual slave to the painful embar- full of contradiction. For as Varnhagen, rassment entailed by unrestrained indulgence who so long enjoyed intimate intercourse of all kinds. His Diary affords many shock- with him, testifies, it was one of the peculing proofs of the disorderly life he led, and iarities of Gentz's restless cagerness in the the unsoftened admissions made concerning pursuit of the business and pleasure of the himself are certainly the most painful por- moment, that he always showed the greatest tions of the book. Still, with all his defi- dislike to anything that forced on him a ciency of refined feeling, and his utter disre- sense of the passage of time, and especially gard of propriety in the pursuit of pleasure, to all allusion to the former events of his and his need of money for reckless and own life. In the year 1826, he looked shameless expenditure, Gentz was still not through the volumes of the Diary, thus without a soul that felt a noble ambition, thrown off in the feeling of the hour; and and that could rise to a higher thought than it is a curious instance of his passionate that of personal interest. The entries in his nature that much of its matter had so toDiary during the eventful year 1809, and tally escaped his memory as to be no longer especially in reference to the minister Sta- intelligible to himself; the perusal induced dion, as well as many scattered remarks him to pick out portions for preservation, and after making a summary of the remainder, to consign the original journal to the flames. The present volume is formed, therefore, out of these two different compositions. The journal does not give any distinct notice of the grounds which induced Gentz to resolve upon leaving Berlin, and forsaking the Prussian service. This portion of the Diary is not in its original fulness. But The opening entry in the Diary at once the entries are sufficiently numerous to give ushers us into the money embarrassments us a shrewd guess of the causes at work. which then beset Gentz, the fruit of his It is impossible to conceive a more disorspendthrift and roué propensities. On the derly and dissipated life than is unblushingly 14th April, 1800, he commemorates "the acknowledged in these brief notes, which lucky surprise" of a present of fifty Prus- seem still panting with the heat of passion. sian dollars from a Jew elder for a petition Jews, bailiffs, debts, gaming mishaps, miswhich he had drawn up for him. At that tresses, and debaucheries of all kinds, are time Gentz, who was a Prussian by birth, the ever-recurring burdens of a career that held a subaltern appointment in the Foreign resulted in domestic troubles (for Gentz was Office in Berlin, the pay of which was per- married), shortly alluded to without any fectly inadequate to his extravagant wants. affectation of reserve. During a career of These he accordingly sought to provide for, headlong dissipation, a running entry of in some degree, by putting the powers of sums from foreign ministers, particularly his brilliant pen at the disposal of various from England,-on one occasion £1,000 in diplomatists with whom he was brought into a lump,-proves that, with all his devotion contact; this intercourse was facilitated by to pleasure, Gentz still found time to cultigreat proficiency in languages, remarkable vate and increase his political connections. readiness in composition, and highly pleasing And it was probably quite as much to these manners. Thus he secured for himself confi- facts as to his desire to get away from social dential connections,-for a man in his official embarrassments, that his leaving Berlin was position, often of a doubtful nature,-which due. Gentz pursued politics with the same led to his being early employed in drawing up important State papers. Thus he established for himself that reputation as a writer which induced the Austrian Cabinet to intrust him with the composition of the masterly manifestoes hurled by it against Napoleon. But a few months after he had thanked his stars for bringing him fifty dollars from the Jew elder, we find him joyously noting down the receipt of £500 from Lord Grenville, with the remark that this was the first remittance of the kind he ever received. The sums which at a later period he acknowledges having received from various foreign courts are immense. At this time Gentz was but in the apprenticeship of his strange career, nor yet so thoroughly used to the more startling elements of the connections into which he allowed himself to be led as to be able to refrain from noticing the passion that he brought into his other pursuits. The vacillating temper of the Prussian Cabinet in its policy towards France was particularly hateful to his soul, which had embraced with vehement passion the gigantic plan of energetic resistance sketched out by the English statesmen with whom he had connected himself. Under the circumstances, it was natural that Gentz should feel strongly disposed to seek a removal into the service of Austria, then battling boldly against the power of France; which removal, by also relieving him from daily annoyances in the world of Berlin, would free him from much which must have been highly irritating to his epicurean disposition. For some time a pretty actress appears to have suspended his choice between herself and his ambitious prospects in Vienna; but at last the resolution was taken, and on the 20th June he turned his back on his wife and Berlin, never again to see either. His reception at Vienna at first was not such as to be very encouraging. A nomination at Rath, with the slender salary of 4,000 depreciated florins, was all he got; and he left for Dresden in the absence of |