216 FIRST JOURNEY IN EUROPE. [1839, 



old fellow, a hard-featured chap, who managed to 

 speak a little English and talked to me of the year 

 he spent at Sir Joseph Banks' in bygone times. We 

 went through the garden, which is finely situated, 

 covers much ground, and has fine trees, but is wretch- 

 edly cared for ; in fact it is almost left to run wild, 

 although well endowed. ... I have some curious an- 

 ecdotes to give you about the censorship of the press 

 at Vienna, but have not energy enough left to write 

 this evening. 



Thursday evening. - - Nothing can be printed and 

 published here, without first being examined and ap- 

 proved by a censor of the press. The government 

 appoints four or five persons in Vienna, who examine 

 in different departments, one for newspapers, one for 

 works of science ! others for different branches of lit- 

 erature. Every author must send his manuscript to 

 the police-office, whence it is handed over to the proper 

 censor, who certifies that it contains nothing immoral, 

 nothing against the government, and that it is good 

 literature, or science, or poetry, as the case may be, 

 and worthy of being published ; it is then returned to 

 the author, with permission to print it. The author's 

 annoyance does not end here. He is obliged to leave 

 a copy of his manuscript with the police, and a copy 

 of the work as soon as printed, so that they may be 

 compared, and any alterations or additions detected. 

 If he desires to make any alterations in his manuscript 

 after it has passed the censorship, he must send it 

 back for a second examination. Persons holding 

 responsible official situations are not exempt : if a 

 censor himself wishes to publish anything, his manu- 

 script must be given to the police that it may be ex- 

 amined by some other censor. All kinds of works, 



