HISTORY OF EUROPE. 



191 



ing recourse to the chances of war 

 ia their vindication. The result of 

 the experiment scrred to convince 

 him, that (here was a line of aggres. 

 sion Tvhich he must not pass, so 

 long as l»e should (hink it prudent 

 to continue at p»ace with Austria. 



The perpetration of the murder 

 of the duke D'Enghien : — 'the tra- 

 gical and mach-lamented fate of 

 that imfortunate prince ; — the cold- 

 blooded malice of the monster by 

 whose command it was executed ;— ^ 

 *nd the shameful violation of the 

 law of nations, and of the rights of 

 the German empire, by which it 

 was attended ; — made tlie deep- 

 est impression on every sovereign, 

 and on every fteling mind, in 

 Europe ; but on none more than 

 that of Alexander, the youthful 

 and amiable sovereign of Russia. 

 From the moment of the emperor's 

 accession to his vast dominions, 

 his whole soul had been devoted 

 to the happiness of his own sub- 

 jedts, and to the guarding the 

 peace and tranquillity of the other 

 nations of the world. The objc(fl 

 of all his public acts, appears 

 to have been the healing up those 

 wounds which Europe had received 

 in the long war by which she had 

 been desolated, and to secure the 

 independence of such of her states 

 as had survived that terrible contest. 

 It is true, that, on the question of the 

 German indemnities, he had co-oper- 

 ated uith France, but as it should 

 seem his motives werenierely to bring 

 that complicated question to a spee- 

 dydecision, that the harmony of the 

 empire might be restored, and that 

 no pretence should n-main for dis- 

 turbing its tranquillity in future. 

 The violation of the German terri- 

 tory, th<»rpf(>re, necessarily gave 

 him much pain on every account. 



both as he was its solemn guarantee, 

 and as being an attack upon a, 

 country, which, so long as it could 

 protect its own independence, must 

 form the most powerful bulwark to 

 Russia, against the immeasureabie 

 ambition, and revolutionary proje6}i 

 of France. 



But, however deeply Alexander 

 must have felt, as a sovereign, at 

 this outrage, perhaps evert the con- 

 tequences to which it manifestly 

 led, did not weigh more upon his 

 mind, than the moral turpitude of 

 the crime by which it was produced. 

 Not contented, therefore, with 

 causing his ombassador at Paris to 

 remonstrate in the strongest man- 

 ner upon the subje6l (the consg- 

 querKes of which wc have alreadj 

 stated in our review of French af- 

 fairs) he presented, by his minister 

 at llatisbon, a formal note to the 

 diet of the empire there assembled, 

 inviting the states to unite their 

 endeavours with his, to take such 

 steps and measures as their insulted 

 country and dignity required at 

 their hands; and called upon them, 

 in the first instance, to join with 

 him in requiring ample satisfaftion 

 from, the French government for 

 what had passed, and the assurances 

 of that power, that no such insult 

 should again be offered to the Ger.s 

 manic body. Great additional so- 

 lemnity Avas given to the represen- 

 tations and remonstrances of the 

 court of Russia upon this occasion, 

 by its not only having piit itself 

 into deep mourning, but by order- 

 ing all its ministers, at foreign court)*, 

 to do the same, in memory of the 

 tragical fate of the duke D'Enghien; 

 a step which the French govern- 

 ment aliefted to consider a direct 

 insult, inasmuch as it silently, bnv 

 forcibly, expressed the respect and 



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