The Vienna correspondent of the Times writes very gloomily in
Thursday's issue as to the political outlook in Austria. The Reicharath met on Friday, and the general expectation, he tells us, is one of trouble andeven disaster. The worst symptom, according to him, is that the personal influence of the Emperor in composing political quarrels is not nearly as strong as it used to be. The exasperation of the hostile nationalities is no longer to be calmed by a reference to the Emperor. "All arguments based upon a condition of affairs which no longer exists—namely, one in which the prestige of the Crown was alone sufficient to turn the scale one way or the other—are valueless." One of the chief difficulties is of coarse the smooth and efficient working of the Dual Monarchy. The Hungarians naturally enough do not appreciate being yoked to a kingdom in a state of Parliamentary anarchy. At the same time, and in spite of the gloomy forebodinge of so able an observer as the Vienna correspondent of the Times, we maintain our belief that in the future, as in the past, the Austrian Empire will escape the perils that seem so imminent. She will survive, because although the warring nationalities hate each other very deeply, they hate still more the idea of the fate that must overtake each of them should the Empire break in pieces. Like Lewis Carroll's delightful creations in the "Hunting of the Smirk," they will, we believe, " march along shoulder to shoulder," if not from goodwill, yet out of dread of the dangers that beset them.
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