The alliance with Prussia and Russia-a grandiose scheme afterwards much favoured by M. Thiers, and on the point of consummation in 1830-found no favour with Talleyrand. He did not like Russia, and foresaw, even in 1814, the result of a strong Prussia.

These are a few-a very few-of the incidents which passed in Vienna in 1814-15. Side by side with political events, the social life of Vienna during the winter months is vividly sketched in Talleyrand's letters. There was Wellington, slow of speech in public, and indulging doubtless in many a 'don't care a twopenny damn' when away from the decorous publicity of audience hall or council chamber-very wroth withal when they made him pay for the crops he had injured in hunting, and amazed that he might not ride anywhere after a fox as in England. There was Castlereagh, magnificently handsome, but not very clear-headed, and talking overmuch about his 'character-a phrase which never failed to rouse Talleyrand to huge merriment. There was Hardenberg, the Prussian representative, deaf, and very grasping, with his rude Qu'est-ce que le droit public fait dans nos délibérations?" Il fait que vous y êtes,' replied Talleyrand.

Most conspicuous of all, perhaps, was the Czar Alexander, in great ill-humour at not being given the order of the Saint Esprit, to which he thought that he had at least as good a claim as the Prince Regent. And then a crowd of lesser notables, among them the wily Capodistrias, and that tireless intriguer, Pozzo di Borgo. But see Talleyrand's own words :

La Cour de Vienne continue à exercer envers ses nobles hôtes une hospitalité qui, dans l'état de ses finances, lui doit être fort à charge; on ne voit partout qu'Empereurs, Rois, Impératrices, Reines, Princes héréditaires, Princes régnants, etc. La Cour défraye tout le monde: on estime la dépense de chaque jour à deux cent vingt mille florins en papier [22,000.] La Royauté perd certainement à ces réunions quelque chose de la grandeur qui lui est propre: trouver trois ou quatre Rois et davantage de Princes à des bals, à des thés chez de simples particuliers de Vienne, me paraît bien inconvenable."

All this magnificent pageant defiles before us in M. Pallain's pages, until in March 1815 a 'disagreeable incident' came to pass: Napoleon escaped from Elba,

Altogether M. Pallain has published ninety-nine letters from the king to Talleyrand and Talleyrand to the king, a most useful preface by M. Pallain himself, and an indispensable Index biographique et géographique.' It is, perhaps, superfluous to say anything about the literary attractions of the letters; but to find the supplementary facts set out in a manner so interesting as M. Pallain's is rare― rarer perhaps in England than in France.

WALTER FREWEN LORD..

Talleyrand to Louis XVIII., November 6, 1814.

Ibid., March 6, 1815.

THE AWAKENING OF PERSIA.

THE visit to this country of H.I.M. the Shah has naturally drawn much attention to Persia and things Persian.

The Shah, in his reported interview with M. de Blowitz, seems to have indicated his appreciation of the fact that it was not mere idle curiosity which secured him so much attention in England, but that there was a very practical notion abroad that the appearance of the Persian monarch in our midst was a sign of some opportunity by which Englishmen should profit. It is gratifying to note that His Majesty not only understood that practical results were expected to follow from his visit to England, but that the considerable pleasure which his reception evidently afforded him was in no way diminished by his comprehension of this fact. A hearty and hospitable welcome to a most distinguished guest was undoubtedly accompanied by hopes that material benefits would be secured, to the advantage of both hosts and guest, from a more intimate acquaintance with one another, and my endeavour in this article will be to give some information regarding the conditions and circumstances which seem likely to affect the realisation of these hopes.

The development of British trade with Persia is the one object of English aspirations in connection with that country, and the possibilities of such development would appear to depend mainly on the following conditions: the natural resources of Persia, the means of communication for working those resources, the business aptitude of the people, the nature of the Government, and the disposition and capacity of the Shah.

As regards the natural resources of Persia the most widely different views are expressed, even by serious persons who have visited the country. I have heard extravagant expressions of opinion concerning its great natural riches, both agricultural and mineral, and I have also heard Persia described as a desert table-land, surrounded by barren mountains. Such divergences of opinion are due partly to the varying temperaments of individual travellers, and partly to the fact that men are liable to generalise too freely fro what they have themselves seen. This is always danger

. it

is particularly so in a country like Persia, where the semi-tropical rice-swamps of Massanderan lie within three or four days' march of the great central sandy desert, and where, between these two varie ties of character, a fine range of lofty mountains displays on its northern slopes a most luxurious vegetation and most magnificent timber, whilst its southern face is barren and bare.

In different parts of Persia are to be found nearly every variety of soil in large tracts, and the agricultural products are equally varied, and most valuable. The general features of the country are a high central table-land, averaging some 4,000 feet above the level of the sea, and surrounded by chains of mountains. The mountain ranges are narrow, but very rugged and lofty in the north; in the south they are less elevated, but wider and equally rugged; and in the east and west gentler slopes offer plenty of good pasture and arable land. The only river of any importance is the Karun, with its affluents, and there are a few smaller rivers flowing into the Caspian. This want of good rivers is a great drawback, as implying the absence of the first and cheapest means of communication, and also a dearth of water in a climate where fertility depends on the supply of moisture. The want of waterways will always be a loss to Persia, but so far as cultivation is concerned, the absence of large rivers is not so serious a matter as it would appear, for not only are there many small rivers and streams whose waters are entirely absorbed in irrigation, but, necessity being the mother of invention, the Persians have discovered how to turn to account the innumerable underground sources which are always to be found in hills and mountains.

The low-lying provinces north of the mountains on the borders of the Caspian receive an immense amount of moisture from the rains produced by the evaporation from the Caspian, caught and condensed by the lofty chain which rises parallel to its southern shores at a distance of thirty to forty miles. In these provinces, Massanderan and Ghilan, the finest rice is grown in great quantities, cotton is also largely cultivated, fair tobacco is grown, fruit, including figs and apricots, is abundant, excellent jute is produced in small, and might be produced in large quantities, silk growing, once most important, has only been checked by remediable disease, and the lower slopes of the mountains offer an almost inexhaustible supply of fine timber, including many highly valuable species. When excellent pasturage for cattle is added to the above sources of wealth it is evident that there are few more naturally productive districts in the world than the Caspian provinces of Persia.

The country between the northern mountains and the desert produces an abundance of barley, cotton, and other valuable crops, and to the east, the valleys and hill-sides of Khorassan, are the feedinggrounds for the vast flocks of sheep which furnish the famous Khorassan wools, and also for camels whose value as beasts of burden

Englishmen have learned in their eastern campaigns, and whose wool is in continually increasing demand at Bradford and other centres for the manufacture of special high-class mixed woollen goods.

Azerbeijan, the highland province bordering the Russian Caucasus and Asia Minor, is throughout undulating and mountainous; the valleys are well-watered and fertile, the pasturage is very extensive, and although the specially valuable crops grown in the warmer climate of other parts of the country are missing, there is little to be desired in general agricultural fertility. As we go eastward from Azerbeijan towards Ispahan we find the rich provinces of Hamadan and Kermanshah, which, if salubrity of climate and consequent superior physique of the inhabitants are taken into consideration, are perhaps the most important in Persia. In the large fertile districts, lying between the central desert and the southern mountains, of which Ispahan is a centre, tobacco, cotton, and poppies for opium, are the more important crops, and the produce of both opium, tobacco, and gum is steadily increasing as the demand for exportation rapidly develops. In the southern mountains there are many fertile valleys and districts, and the valley of the Karun is capable of producing sufficient grain for exportation to render profitable the opening of the navigation of that river even without other considerations.

Timber is wanting in most parts of Persia, and water for irrigation, necessary in nearly every part of the country, is often only obtained artificially, at the expense of great labour and perseverance. These are distinct drawbacks, but the foregoing sketch of the agricultural condition of the country is sufficient to show that Persia, as a whole, is well favoured by nature in its capacity for producing not only all the agricultural produce necessary for home consumption, but also a large and valuable surplus, for exportation.

As regards the mineral wealth of Persia, I hesitate to offer an opinion. Iron, coal, silver, copper, and petroleum are certainly to be found in different districts; but the value of mines depends so absolutely on the possibility of cheap transport, and on the richness and quality of the ores, that a mere statement that minerals exist is of no value as a basis for legitimate commercial speculation. I have heard different opinions expressed as to the value of Persian minerals, but though several geologists have travelled about the country and made interesting reports, I do not think that the close technical study of special localities necessary for business calculations has yet been made. I can only say briefly that fair coal is found sufficiently near Tehran to be now used there as fuel; that I have heard of excellent coal in the south near the Persian Gulf which, if at all accessible, should be most valuable for supplying steam shipping; that I believe there is rich iron ore on the southern side of the mountains near the Caspian, with cheap water carriage to the Volga basin, and

that I have been assured, on good authority, of the value of the petroleum in the west near the Turkish frontier.

Whatever may be the natural agricultural or mineral resources of Persia, the first thing required for their developement, and therefore also to increase the buying power of the country and promote general trade, is a proper system of communications affording safe and cheap transport for all commodities. At present, the only means of carriage is by pack animals, camels, mules, donkeys and horses being employed according to the nature of the country to be traversed and the class of goods to be carried. The ordinary loads are, for a camel, about 400 ibs., 200 to 250 lbs. for a mule or pony, and about 130 lbs. for a donkey. The cheapness or scarcity of forage naturally affects prices, and both prices and the weight of loads carried depend much on the nature of the country and the season of the year. The drivers, known as charvodars,' with the aid of servants, generally attend their own animals. They are a hardy class of men who enjoy a special reputation for honesty, a very necessary and highly valued quality in their business. In summer these 'charvodars' feed their animals by allowing them to graze for many hours daily by the road. This habit, their liability to be impressed for public service by local governors, and other circumstances, including the necessity of waiting for sickly animals, produce great uncertainty as to the time required for any particular journey, and this uncertainty coupled with the natural slowness of such a system of transport are serious difficulties in the way of trade development.

To effect an improvement, the first general idea is to open up the country by the construction of roads and railways. I can hardly expect my ideas on this subject to meet with ready acceptance, but, in my opinion, there is no great necessity for immediately making railways, or even for undertaking many expensive roads. Owing to practical difficulties, financial and political, the construction of railways will, I think, be postponed, and even where roads might prove of immediate advantage, it is difficult to see where the money is to come from to make them. The Persian Government will be very slow to lay out the money required, and a road-making company could do nothing without a concession which the Government would be averse to giving, as the idea of foreigners collecting tolls, or, as they would be considered, taxes, from Persian subjects, would be considered objectionable. Further, even if a concession were granted, it would be difficult to collect sufficient tolls to pay interest on capital. Where the country was not too difficult, carriers, to whom time is no object, would certainly make a détour of many miles to avoid a toll-station, and where the country is so difficult that a road would necessarily be followed, the expense of making it would be great, and the traffic, until developed by time, would be so small as to make it difficult to secure a profitable revenue.