The last time I saw this distinguished individual was in the month of
November following, on my way to England, I venture to give a scrap of
the conversation.
_Mett_. "The idea of Charlemagne was the formation of a vast state,
comprising heterogeneous nations united under one head; but with all
his genius he was unequal to the task of its accomplishment. Napoleon
entertained the same plan with his confederation of the Rhine; but all
such systems are ephemeral when power is centralized, and the minor
states are looked upon as instruments, and not as principals. Austria
is the only empire on record that has succeeded under those
circumstances. The cabinet of Austria, when it seeks the solution of
any internal question, invariably reverses the positions, and
hypothetically puts itself in the position of the provincial interest
under consideration. That is the secret of the prosperity of Austria."
_Author_. "I certainly have been often struck with the historical
fact, that 1830 produced revolutions then and subsequently in France,
Belgium, Poland, Spain, and innumerable smaller states; while in
Austria, with all its reputed combustible elements, not a single town
or village revolted.
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