the Riffel Hotel, facing Monte Rosa and the Matterhorn; and the hospices of the Great St. Bernard, of the St. Gothard, of the Bernina, and of the Grimsel passes.

Of bracing, but less extreme, mountain climates, ranging between 5,000 and 6,000 feet above the sea, the following may be mentioned :— The Baths of San Bernardino, on the southern side of the pass of that name, where there is a chalybeate spring. Its southern aspect moderates the rigour of its high mountain climate. Mürren, beautifully situated above Lauterbrunnen; the Rigi Scheideck; the village of Zermatt; Panticosa, on the southern slope of the Pyrenees, in the province of Aragon, a few hours from Les Eaux Chaudes; here there is an alkaline spring; this and its moderate temperature have made it a resort for consumptive patients, chiefly from Spain.

Of milder and less exciting mountain climates we have a great variety to choose from; ranging between 4,000 and 4,500 feet we have Comballaz in the Val des Ormonds, about three miles above Seppey: the Baths of Leuk, at the foot of the Gemmi; Weissenstein, a ridg of the Jura, near Solothurn, a station for the goat's milk and whey cure, commanding a very fine view; the village of Andermatt, on the St. Gothard road; the well-known Kaltbad on the Rigi; Barèges, in the Pyrenees; and the town of Briançon in Dauphiné, and many others.

Of those between 3,000 and 4,000 feet I may name Bealtenberg, over 3,500 feet, in an admirable situation above the right bank of the Lake of Thun; Gurnigel, also, over 3,500, a frequented sulphur bath not far from Berne; Courmayeur, nearly 4,000 feet; Grindelwald; Engelberg, a favourite mountain resort at the foot of the Titlis, and near glaciers, with an equable, fresh and tonic climate, and whey and goat's milk cure; Chateau d'Oex in the Simmenthal; Chaumont, overlooking Neuchatel, and easily approached from that town; like most of the Jura stations, it is more exciting and bracing than other localities of the same elevation. Sainte Croix, also near Neuchatel, on a declivity of the Jura chain, is about 3,600 feet. St. Cergues, also in the Jura, is a village built in a gorge looking east, at the foot of the Dôle. It is much frequented for its bracing climate, but it is considered too irritating for delicate, impressionable persons. The climate of the Jura chain is said to be generally colder and more humid than than that of the Central Alps.

A very easily accessible mountain station is that of Mont Dore, in the mountains of Auvergne; it is ascended from ClermontFerrand, within a few hours by rail of Paris; it is about 3,300 feet above the sea, and in an interesting country. It has hot alkaline springs which are drunk and used as baths and inhalations. Some consumptive patients have made remarkable recoveries there, notwithstanding the fact that fogs and rain are very prevalent.

As examples of very mild and slightly tonic mountain climates between 2,000 and 3,000 feet above the sea there are Glion and Les Avants, near Montreux; St. Gervais, in a very favourable position, near the valley of Chamounix; Seelisberg, in a protected and mild situation above the Lake of Lucerne; Gais, Weissbad and Heiden, in the canton Appenzell, above the Lake of Constance; these three are exceedingly pleasant, quiet resorts, out of the way of the beaten track, and excellently well suited for those who need repose and quiet in a pure and moderately bracing air.

Finally, whether we seek health in the mountains or by the sea, in either case we shall find change that change which is the type of life and the condition of health; that change which is rest. And who shall estimate the moral, as well as physical, refreshment we gain by changing the sordid routine of city life, the "greetings where no friendship is," for the contemplation of the solemn moods of nature, whether in sea or mountain? Looking on these eternal realities, in the grandeur of their calm repose or in the majesty of their roused anger, we recover that sense of proportion which we are so prone to lose-our sense of the relative proportion of the individual to the whole. Or, if we need no such stern remindings, we may seek changeful Nature in her gentler moods in the soft woodland shade, and there, amidst the perfume of flowers, the songs of birds, and the murmur of the trees, we may, as well as by the sea or on the mountain, recover health of mind and body as we

"Draw in easier breath from larger air."

J. BURNEY YEO.

CAVOUR.

THERE is no portion of the history of the nineteenth century that better repays careful study than those memorable ten years during which Cavour, as the constitutional minister of a small and impoverished state, gradually raised Piedmont from her position of existence on sufferance to the recognised leadership of an almost completed Italy. To Englishmen in particular the life of Count Cavour will ever be of singular interest, for he avowedly built upon lines traced by our politicians and thinkers, and his most successful reforms were modelled upon improvements which we have slowly introduced into our own anomalous political system. Englishmen indeed are entitled to feel proud of the high regard expressed for them and their institutions by two patriots of such different character and such widely different ambition as Garibaldi and Cavour. The perfect freedom we have gained, the energy and patriotism we have shown at all critical periods in our history, appear alike to the cool calculating statesman and to the enthusiastic simple-minded warrior worthy of the constant imitation of their countrymen. It is refreshing, after that long course of self-depreciation which is an integral part of English training, to observe the success which has attended the wise application of English methods amid an excitable and far from homogeneous people. The fashion is gaining ground of jeering at the cumbrous forms of representative parliamentary government, and some even go so far as to predict its speedy downfall. It is described on the one hand as involving a waste of power and a sacrifice of efficiency by excessive deference to the popular will; whilst on the other hand the checks and balances so carefully contrived are held to fritter away all genuine responsibility, and to prevent the true tendency of popular feeling from making itself felt at the most important time. A system, however, that rendered it possible for Italy to secure unity, independence, and in the main good government under the most difficult circumstances without any serious internal commotion, can scarcely be really wanting either in strength or in flexibility. Weak ministers, or those of a naturally arbitrary disposition, may fail to manage a machine which enabled rulers of greater capacity and wider grasp to carry through projects that would have been hopeless without its assistance; but the real value of parliamentary institutions is not the less great on that account. Herein it was that Cavour displayed the noblest sagacity. He was ever ready to blame his own incompetence rather than to find fault with his tools or his materials.

Throughout all the bitter struggles that he engaged in when his policy was thwarted, his motives misrepresented, and even his character traduced, he steadily refused to tamper with one iota of that liberty, failing which, as he persistently declared, it was not worth while to reconstitute Italy. Parliaments themselves might be refractory, his adversaries unscrupulous, or his allies exacting, but nothing could justify a statesman in taking a short cut to his object over the broken-down fences of the rights of the people. Cavour, from the first, had a deep-rooted confidence in his own countrymen, and they more than repaid him for it in the end. No minister of a despotic sovereign, no dictator raised to supreme power by the pronunciamento of an army or the ignorant plébiscite of a mob, could possibly have had the weight in Italy and throughout Europe that Cavour carried with him as the responsible chief of a constitutional cabinet. That which he thought and felt to-day, it was certain that through his persuasion the great majority of Italians would think and feel to-morrow. By degrees he established such a community of sentiment between himself and them that they could follow him as readily in the most intricate negotiations as in pursuing those ends which were obviously for their advantage. The perfect openness of mind which enabled Cavour to work willingly and harmoniously with all, no matter what might be their political or religious views, who could subordinate their own opinions to the good of their country, is a rare quality even among statesmen of the first rank, and it is this, even more than his genius, which renders him an example to be imitated. He alone of modern ministers could have fairly said with Demosthenes, "Though each of you is nearer to his own than I am, yet I, the statesman, am nearest to you all."

Not until he was thirty-eight years old did Cavour begin to take an active part in the public affairs of Piedmont, and the circumstances under which he commenced political life were as extraordinary as his capacity for dealing with them was exceptional. In 1848 all Europe broke through the spell of absolutism which had pressed upon every country with such deadening weight since the great peace of 1815, and nowhere was the awakening more sudden or more hopeful for the time than in Italy. To this Cavour himself had in some degree contributed by the establishment of his journal, the Risorgimento. When also, just before the outbreak, a deputation from Genoa appealed to the despotic priestridden Charles Albert to obtain the expulsion of the Jesuits and the formation of the National Guard, Cavour at once gave form and substance to the ill-conceived petition by demanding a constitution in a manner as bold as it was prudent. The Charter thus unexpectedly asked for was still more unexpectedly granted, and Cavour was one of the foremost in labouring on the committee appointed to

draw up the Electoral Bill. At this time, nevertheless, his ability was still unappreciated, and the step which he had taken in respect to the Charter was derided by the more advanced Liberals, to whom he might naturally have looked for encouragement and support. Between Cavour, however, and the ablest of the moderate men, Cesare Balbo, Massimo d'Azeglio, and Vincenzo Gioberti, there was already this in common, that they had all determined to give up the old conspiring, revolutionary methods, which, identified as they were with the name of a man whose patriotism was undoubted, had nevertheless rendered assassin and Mazzinian almost convertible terms throughout Europe. Before the assembling of the first Piedmontese Parliament, however, Italy was in a blaze of insurrection. The "five days" of Milan which drove the Austrian army in headlong rout to Verona, and the almost simultaneous successful risings in Venice, Rome, and Central Italy, drew away attention from the internal affairs of Piedmont. The time had arrived for a definite resolve, and Cavour urged that the only honourable course should be taken. A few days later Charles Albert issued his proclamation to the Italians, put himself at the head of the army, crossed the Ticino, and for some months carried everything before him. The opening of the campaign was indeed most favourable to Italian hopes. It seemed that for once long-standing feuds and jealousies would be forgotten in the common desire that Italy should suffice for herself. Republicans and Monarchists could rejoice together that the newly elected Pope had ranged himself on the side of liberty and independence. The enthusiasm of the people unfortunately affected the judgment of the leaders; the dispute about the spoils began ere the battle was half won, and there appeared on every side those sad differences which so long interfered with the best-laid plans for Italian enfranchisement. Fanatical Republicans boldly declared that no good thing could come out of monarchical Piedmont, and did all in their power to hamper Charles Albert. "They were really Austria's most useful allies." And so it chanced that the Pope, alarmed at the spread of freedom, issued his Encyclical of April 29th; the army of Durando, which might have acted with crushing effect, was frittered away at the decisive moment; Venice rendered no important assistance; and even the Piedmontese Ministry lent but a lukewarm support to the prosecution of the war. This last mistake Cavour, now deputy for Turin as well as editor of the Risorgimento, never ceased to condemn vigorously, though he gave a general support to the Ministry against the machinations of the Left. In the meantime, unfortunately, intrigues both reactionary and socialistic were carried on in every direction. At length Radetzky, who had received large reinforcements, felt himself strong enough to assume the offensive, and Charles Albert and his gallant